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THE SPIRIT 



ROGER WILLIAMS, 



A PORTRAIT 



ONE OF HIS DESCENDANTS. 



" He was a man of spirit true and bold : 

Feared not to speak his thoughts whats'er they were."— Du^/ee. 



BY . 

LORENZO D. JOHNSON. 



BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, 

BY CASSADY AND MARCH....WILSON LANE. 

1839. 



PREFACE 



This unpretending little volume, it is hoped, will not prove 
altogether uninteresting to those who may favor the author 
with its perusal. Should it fall into the hands of the rigerous 
sectary, he will doubtless be induced to pass the sentence of 
condemnation on the writer's views of Christian liberty, and 
what he considers the only true test of Christian fellowship. 
But such are respectfully invited to lay aside prejudice, at 
least for a time, and carefully to compare those views with 
the precepts and practice of Christ and his Apostles, and 
then, honestly, and with the true Christian spirit, determine, 
whether those views be not more consistent with the true 
spirit of religion, with the welfare and prosperity of the 
church, and the present and future happiness of mankind, 
than that system which is narrowed to a single point, and 
excludes from fellowship and communion, for one supposed 
error in judgment, the person whose heart may be right. To 
those whose views agree with those of the writer, he has only 
to say, that no effort has been made at embellishment ; the 
only object being, to promote the cause of truth and righteous- 
ness, and to stimulate others to co-operate in the great and 
glorious work. 



VI PREFACE. 

In the biographical sketch of Roger Williams, for which, 
in the multiplicity of other concerns, the author is mostly 
indebted to the labors of anotl)er person, nothing has been 
attempted beyond a brief summary ; which, concise as it is, 
embraces, in a plain and familiar manner, all the leading and 
most prominent incidents of that great man's long and useful 
life, known in history. It is the substance of larger vol- 
umes, detached from statistical accounts, and incidental 
circumstances, connected with colonial history, and biog- 
raphies of other men. It shows Roger Williams up, as 
he was seen in his own day, standing, in relation to other 
men, independent and alone; and will prove a valuable ac- 
quisition to such as cannot afford to possess more expensive 
works, or to wade through a large mass of matter, to come at 
a comparatively few simple facts. In the appendix, a few 
notes are thrown together, which, it is hoped, may prove ac- 
ceptable to the reader. At any rate, the writer hopes his 
humble labors may not be altogether unsuccessful in the pro- 
motion of the great cause of Christian morals and human 
happiness ; and with this hope, commends the little volume, 
his readers, himself, and all mankind, to the divine favor and 
mercy. 

Providence, Jamtanj 1, 1839. 



THE SPIRIT, &c, 



Roger Williams was the man who lived and 
labored for all coming time. With great propriety 
it may be said of blm, as Coleridge said of Mikon-^ 
" that he lived so far in advance of his age, as to 
dwarf himself in the distance." The people of his 
own times did not understand him — for, while he 
believed every man should be left entirely free from 
dictation and penalties by human government, in 
matters of conscience, and of religion, — while he 
believed in the soul's unchecked and entire freedom, 
to act in strict accordance with those high and fear- 
ful responsibilities which originate in its own con- 
victions of truth and duty, — while he, Roger Wil- 
liams thus believed, the many tender mercies of his 
own times were developed by an attempt to make 
every man's conscience for him ; and in making 
every act of resistance to that attempt, a 'penal of- 
fence I 



y THESPIRITOF 

The magistrates and law makers in the days of 
our forefathers, were not satisfied with defending 
rehgion, but took upon themselves also to define it, 
and then to enforce uniformity by laav ! With 
these views, they inflicted punishments, and, in 
some instances, even death, en those whose sense 
of duty led them to act differently from the dictates 
of the standard creed ; thus becoming the judges of 
other men^s consciences. Roger Williams said, 
in spirit, this enslaves the soul 1 and takes down 
the importance, and destroys the dignity of the i;od- 
like and undying spirit within. He said, the soul 
must be free as air — free from all fear of man — 
free to obey the voice of God, by whom alone we 
must be judged at the last day. He said, we 
must have unity without uniformity — and in taking 
this position, he placed a right character in the 
foreground, and left all opinions, considered as such, 
in the shade. 

We would not represent Roger Williams as 
bavins been indifferent to doctrines and creeds. 
Perhaps no man was ever more tenacious of a creed, 
than he. But, though tenacious himself, he accorded 
to every other person, the liberty he claimed and 
exercised for himself, in matters of conscience. He 
believed in the right of private judgment — in the 
right of every man to make his own creed, and to 



ROGER WILLIAMS . 9 

obey the truth as he receives it from the word of 
God, in accordance with his own conviction of 
right. 

Leaving the mind thus free in its inquiries for 
truth, and free to obey, he reasoned correctly in 
coming to the conclusion, that, with such an almost 
infinite variety of temperamants and modes of edu- 
cation as will ever exist, and each mode predispos- 
ing the mind to some ideas and impressions peculiar 
to itself, it was chimerical to expect uniformity of 
belief — and that, to coerce mind is impossible. To 
enforce uniformity, is to destroy freedom of thought, 
and freedom of discussion, as well as sincerity ; and, 
at the same time, it enslaves the mind. It is, in 
fact, the appropriate method to increase hypocrisy. 

Important as Mr. Williams believed it to be, to 
imbibe and maintain correct opinions, yet the old 
adage may have originated in his theory, that it is 
possible for a man to be orthodox in his creed, and 
heterodox in his conduct ; and vice versa. Follow- 
ing out this theory, we see creeds, when regarded as 
a test of fellowship, receding farther and farther in 
the back ground, untill finally lost to the view in 
the distance. 

Follow still, and you see the Christian world 
rallying around another standard, and substituting 



10 THESPIRITOF 

another test of fellowship and brotherhood ; and 
that will be the fruits of righteousness. So far as 
this theory prevails, men will go forth to seek out 
their brethren, guided not by an inquiry for a par- 
ticular creed ; but rather by the test the Saviour 
gave ; " By their fruits ye shall know them." This 
course of inquiry brings us again to the subject of 
the right character, without any reference to the 
creed, in an abstract point of view. 

When all the various sects of Christians shall 
make a right character, consisting in holiness of 
heart and life, the only test of Christian fellowship, 
calling no man brother, unless he doeth the will of 
our Heavenly Father, then angry strife among 
Christians about doctrines, will cease, which has so 
much multiplied sceptics, and hindered the conver- 
sion of tlie world to Christ. Then, being put upon 
the right character, in order to obtain fellowship in 
the church of God, will candidates for membership 
seek more earnestly what they should he, rather than 
what they should believe. 

Loose as this course may appear with reference 
to doctrine, and wide as it would seem to open the 
door through which heresy might gain admission 
into the church, there is no better mode of keep- 
ing her pure in her life, and doctrine ; for, first, 
on this theory, the church is built upon the fruits, 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 11 

or evidences of a Christian character, without 
particular respect to doctrine, and, however incor- 
rect the members of such a church might be in this 
particular, it is an evil infinitely less, than to find a 
church, were such a thing possible, correct in doc- 
trine, but without the spirit and practice of religion. 
But it is impossible for a church to be composed of 
members who bear the "yrwiV," and " do the will 
of God," without having the truth somewhere. If 
it be not developed in the theory, which the brother 
has adopted, perhaps by force of education — if i( be 
not in the head, it will be found to influence the 
heart. Our Saviour gave us no surer way to find 
right doctrine, than by seeking out a right charac- 
ter, ''If any man will do his will, he shall know 
of the doctrine," was his lanouasre to the multitude. 
The secret is, no heart can understand the word of 
God, unless its truths be sought for, with a sincere 
desire for obedience. We therefore repeat, that, if 
the various sects would relinquish creeds as the test 
of fellowship, and substitute for them, a right char- 
acter, a character which can be known by its 
"fruits," we should no longer hear the paradoxi- 
cal language now in use, " we believe him to he a 
Christian, and that he would go to heaven, should 
he die ; but he is not a Baptist, a Methodist, an 
Episcopalian, or a Presbyterian, as the case may 



12 THE SP IRIT OF 

be, and therefore we cannot fellowship Mm as a 
memher of our church ! " How common is such 
language. 

Now in our opinion, no church on earth ought to 
be so constituted, as to feel itself compelled to pay 
such a deference to creed, or usage, as to refuse to 
extend fellowship and watclicare to any one they 
believe approbated of Christ, and who, they also 
believe, would be received into the church in heaven, 
should he die. We would then, lay this down as a 
principle — that those who are ft to enter the church 
in heaven, are ft suhjects for memhership in the 
purest church on earth, and should not be rejected 
for nonconformity to certain creeds and formularies. 
It may now be inquired, in following out this princi- 
ple, shall we not see, in one local organization, or 
branch of the church of God, some who are bap- 
tized by immersion, some by fusion, and others by 
sprinkling, together with their irresponsible infant 
offspring ? If we shall not have, in the same body, 
some who believe in Calvinism, and others in Ar- 
mineanism, and so on ? Perhaps so, but what then ? 
Let it be remembered that, if the test of fellowship 
be the Christian character, and if this test be strictly 
adhered to, persons thus gaining admission, will be 
Christians, whatever the modes of belief, and this 
is the best of all. It should also be recollected that 



ROGERWILLIAMS. 13 

the fellowship of such a body of Christians, is not 
founded on forms and means, but on the great 
END of true religion, the right, or Christian charac- 
ter. Heterogeneous as this mass may appear to a 
sectarian eye, yet, in the suhstantials of religion, 
these Christians will be sweetly united in fellowship 
— a fellowship that shall survive all sectarianism ; 
for it subsists not on profession, or on uniformity of 
creed or name, but on character. 

There is never so much difference of opinion as 
to the substantial parts of religion, the parts which 
pass with us from this life to the next, and which 
" give us boldness in the day of judgment," as about 
mere modes of belief. In short, it is not about the 
faith in which salvation lies, that men differ. Who 
has ever witnessed an angry debate on the subjects 
of goodness of heart, and Christian morals ? On 
these, all agree ; it is only on what is intended 
as means, that we differ in opinion. 

The last point to which this principle will lead 
us, is this: — When character shall, in all churches, 
and among all Christians, be made the test of fel- 
lowship and membership, and every man be left to 
make his own creed, sectarianism must die ; and 
that, for the very obvious reason, that there will be 
nothing to differ about, which can operate as a bar 
to union of heart and affections ; while, in matters 



14 THESPIRITOF 

of form and means, each one having the hberty to 
judge for himself, if they cannot agree to think ahke, 
they will agree to differ. And about goodness of 
heart, there can be no contention, except in the glo- 
rious rivalry as to who shall rise to the highest point 
of excellence, in the scale of Christian morals. 
Glorious emulation indeed ! May its prevalence 
become universal ! 

Not until the church shall Lave taken this posi- 
tion, will she be able to demonstrate, with an all 
pervading evidence, to Jews, INIahometans, and Pa- 
gans, that her Saviour is the Lord from Heaven. 
How fervent was His prayer, " that they all may be 
ONE, that the world may believe thou hast sent 
me." 

When the church is so constituted as to make 
character the only test of fellowship, irrespective 
of creeds, or forms, then, and not till then will the 
disciples of Christ be one. But now, so much more 
importance is attached to doctrines, ordinances and 
modes, that, while the language which many of our 
churches hold towards delinquents in conduct is 
"we must bear with them," yet let the member of 
a Baptist church express a wish to have his infants 
baptised, or, let the member of a Calvinist church 
fall into Armenianism, and he is not the subject of 
forbearance ! It is a heresy ; therefore toleration is 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 15 

sin ! and he soon finds the door of the church, 
whatever may be his character. So it ever will 
be while articles of faith, and modes of government, 
or any other thing, is a test of fellowship and mem- 
bership, besides holiness of heart and life. 

That Roger Williaiyis contemplated all the 
results of which we speak, we will not undertake to 
say ; though they legitimately proceed from the 
premises he assumed, and the general principle of 
action which he adopted and enforced. This it 
was, which car;-ied him forv.-ard, out of sight of his 
own times, and, may be^ like the ancient prophets, 
even out of sight of himself. 

With the m/inistry of the age in which he lived, he 
was decidedly dissatisfied ; and, what wonder ? When 
he saw them attempting to purify the church, and 
to protect it from heresy, by the strength of the 
secular arm, instead of the force of moral poivcr, 
there could be no wonder that he was dissatisfied. 
On this subject, he said, " In the poor small span of 
my life, I desired to have been a diligent and con- 
stant observer ; and have been myself many ways 
engaged, in city, in country, in court, in schools, in 
universities, in churches, in Old and New England, 
and yet, cannot in the holy presence of God, bring 
in the result of a satisfying discovery, that either the 
begetting ministry of the Apostles, or Messenger to 



16 THE SPIRIT OF 

the churches, or the feeding and nourishing ministry 
of pastors and teachers, according to the first institu- 
tions of the Lord Jesus, are yet restored and extant." 

Tlie fact is, the universal adoption of his own 
principles was destined to produce an order of things 
so different from that under which he lived, as re- 
spected the church, and so much more glorious, 
that it is not at all surprising, that, removed as he 
was at such a remote distance from the result he 
should have seen the event only ^' as through a glass, 
darkly." Nor is it strange, that the brightness 
of the glorious, though distant day, even though 
shining through the vista of ages, should so have 
dazzled his organs of vision, that, to use a beautiful 
scripture simile, he only saw " men as trees walk- 
ing." 

Though more than two centuries have elapsed, 
since Roger Williams first proclaimed the princi- 
ple, then new to the Christian world, that the civil 

POWER HAS NO RIGHTFUL JURISDICTION OVER THE 
CONSCIENCE, AND CANNOT CONTROL THE RELIG- 
IOUS OPINIONS OF MEN, yet our own age has not 
come np with him. We have not yet imbibed his 
philosophy in its full extent, and hence it is, that 
the name which future ages shall revere, as that of 
the noblest apostle in the cause of the soul's freedom 
in modem ages, is but imperfectly known. 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 17 

Let us pause here for a moment, and inquire, 
were Roger Williams now among us, what posi- 
tion would he occupy in the great moral conflict 
which is now in progress ? Though we stood listen- 
ing over the grave of this great and good man, no 
voice from his slumbering dust might be heard to 
point out the precise part of the field of moral re- 
form, to which he would devote his labors with the 
greatest energy and delight. But, of one thing we 
may rest assured, that, what he believed to be right 
and duty^ that would he do. If theie was one trait 
in his character, more resplendent, or more promi- 
nent than another, it was uncompromising integ- 
rity and fixedness of purpose, in what he consid- 
ered to be duty, and an ardent attachment to truth. 
Roger Williams was a man highly endued with 
moral courage. He never flinched, nor turned aside 
from his course, for fear of consequences. It was 
enough for him to know what duty demanded. He 
yielded ready obedience, and left the results in the 
hands of his God. Were he a sojourner with us, 
we think it would be diflicult for him now, as it was 
two hundred years ago, *' to bring in the result of a 
satisfying discovery, that many of the present min- 
istry, are the begotten ministry of the apostles." 
Would not his righteous soul be grieved, to see so 
many of our ministers sitting in their parishes like 
2 



18 THESPIRITOF - 

birds of prey, perched in high places, pondering to 
learn what the people will hear, and studying so to 
mould the truth, if truth they preach, as to give no 
offence, that the winisiry he not blamed ; and so 
turning the truth of God into a lie ? Would he not 
be surprised, to see how quietly man-stealers, tra- 
ders in human (lesh, can sit in our churches, receiv- 
ing no rebuke ? And would not the surprise be 
overwhelming, to hear our ministers bring forth 
scripture apologies, as anodynes for the conscience, 
to those, who unman the image of God, and reduce 
their fellow men to articles of merchandize — lest they 
should feel disturbed by the rays of light now shed 
upon the civilized world. Would not Roger Wil- 
liams be astonished, should he rise from his grave, 
and go into the churches, in whose neighborhood 
are living springs* of pure water, which he, like 
father Jacob, had bequeathed to posterity, and there 
find spirit drinkers, church members ? And there, 
also, the lottery gambler, and the licentious person ! 
When he had surveyed the entire mass, would he 
not find there, the man who oppresseth the hireling 
in his wages, and the man who stands ready when 
his country calls, to go forth in the name of the 
Prince of Peace, to swell the " noise of war," and 

* See note A. 



RO G E R WILLIAM S . 19 

multiply the '^ garments rolled in blood," with assur- 
ance of the Parson's prayers for success? 

Methinks 1 hear the astonished spirit of Roger 
Williams, as it stalks forth among the things of 
earth, inquiring of the first minister who falls in its 
way, " Have you, still, the Christian scriptures, or 
have you adopted some heathen code ? The Koran 
it cannot be ; for that prohibits the use of intoxicat- 
ing drinks." The Pastor replies, " No — we still 
retain the Holy Scriptures ; and they inform us that 
the wheat and the tares must grow together until 
the harvest ; and besides, for the sake o^ peace in 
the church, we suffer sin upon our neighbor; hop- 
ing that, by holding the flock together, all may be 
turned from the error of their ways." " But," re- 
sponds the spirit of Roger Williams, '' your plan 
is, to * Do evil, that good may come ' — besides, 
how can you expect to convert sinners from the error 
of their ways, unless you make an application of 
TRUTH to their minds ? For this you have no ' Thus 
saith the Lord.' Your desire to preserve the peace 
of the church, has originated in the fear of losing 
your settlement, your salary, or your popularity. 
God will hold you responsible for all the sins you 
have covered over, or suffered to pass unrebuked. 
And of how much value is the peace you labor with 
so much assiduity to preserv-e ? It is of no intrinsic 



20 THESPIRITOF 

worth. It is merely superficial. It is a healing of 
the surface only, — the probe of the surgeon will 
lay open the gangrene. Your peace \s youv I'uin. 
Agitation alone can save you, — agitation of the whole 
body, until you produce the scripture evidences of 
soundness, on which to build with safety." 

Methinks I hear the immortal Williams, on his 
terrestrial visit, farther inquire, " Why does the work 
of the world's conversion to Christ, move on at a 
pace so slow and languid ? Why does Christianity 
exert an influence so feeble, over the nations ? Why 
is it, that the Christian name, wherever it is heard, 
carries with it such a dread of the men who bear 
it? Is it not because they have been unkind and 
cruel ? Because they have waged so many wars, 
and carried so many of their fellow beings into cap- 
tivity and bondage ? Your's is a corrupted Christi- 
anity ! — In your hands it requires to be both revised 
and defined ! — You must take higher ground, or 
you cannot be instrumental in turning this unregen- 
erate world to Christ." 

It forms no part of our plan, to write a new biog- 
raphy of Roger Williams. It is our purpose 
merely to select some of the most prominent and 
striking incidents of his hfe, and place them, in a 
condensed form, and in a small volume, the cheap- 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 21 

ness of which shall enable all those who wish for 
some tribute to the memory of the founder of 
Rhode Island, to possess it ; and who might not be 
able to avail themselves of more expensive works. 
Doubtful, however, of his own ability to make the 
best selections from a life of more than seventy years, 
the author has taken the liberty to select and abridge 
from the Biography of Roger Williams, an excel- 
lent work written by Professor Knowles. Rev. Mr. 
Upham, a gentleman of Salem, Mass., well known 
as an intelligent historical lecturer, and author of the 
Life of Sir Henry Vane, was written to for assist- 
ance, he being the writer of a life of Roger Wil- 
hams, in two lectures, delivered before the ^' Society 
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge," in Boston, 
and in other places, to multitudes of delighted audi- 
tors. We were in hopes of obtaining his aid in 
making up this little volume, but he was unable to 
lend his assistance, in consequence of a press of en- 
gagements, and, in reply to the request, favored us 
with the following note, which we have liberty to 
publish. 

Sahm, Nov. 8, 1838. 
Rev. L. D. Johnson ; — 

Dear Sir : — It gives me great pleasure to hear 
that you intend to prepare a memoir of Roger Wil- 
liams. As the church of which you are Pastor, 



22 THESPIRITOF 

professes to adhere to bis leading principles of faith 
and order, there is an evident propriety in your de- 
sign to illustrate his character and spirit in a bio- 
graphical notice of him. 

The churches and people of Rhode Island cannot 
over-estimate the claims of Roger Williams to their 
grateful remembrance. He was not without the 
infirmities of human nature, and partook of the pe- 
culiarities of his times. His controversial tone, like 
that of Milton, and his contemporaries in general, 
was severe and violent ; and perhaps he^is liable to 
the charge, to which all enthusiastic and ardent re- 
formers and dissenters are exposed, of having been 
too strenuously and exclusively intent upon the en- 
forcement of his liivorlte theories and principles. 
But those theories and principles of government in 
Church and State, to the defence of which, the long 
life of Roger Williams was devoted, were of supreme 
importance, and the liberty and peace of nations, 
and the prosperity and glory of the Christian church, 
depend upon their adoption and diffusion. 

Roger Williams was a very learned man. He 
had a noble genius, and a truly generous and benev- 
olent spirit. He was sincere and brave in his tem- 
perament, profound and comprehensive in his views ; 
and his moral sentiments were expanded, and warmed 
by the genuine influence of Christian love and piety. 



R G E R W I L L I A M S . 23 

He was a most worthy founder of a free state ; 
an asserter of civil and Christian liberty upon the 
only true principles, which he was among the first, 
if not the very first, to comprehend and maintain ; 
and a benefactor of the whole civilized and Christian 
world, inasmuch as he faithfully advocated, and suc- 
cessfully established their principles, causing them 
to strike their roots so deep into the colony he plant- 
ed, that they can never be eradicated ; but will 
flourish there forever. Those principles will at last 
be transplanted from Rhode Island, into every part 
of Christendom. 

You have my best wishes in your undertaking, 
and I shall rejoice in your efforts to extend the in- 
fluence of civil and religious liberty, by making more 
generally known and appreciated, the character and 
memory of one of their earliest and worthiest pro- 
mulgators and champions. 

With sincere regard, your friend, 

Charles W. Upham. 



Of the early life of Roger Williams, but a few 
facts are known. In his own writings, there is noth- 
ing relative to his parents, or the place where he 
was born and educated ; nor to the events of his 
infancy and youth ; and but little of himself, previous 
to his arrival in America. It is said, by tradition, 



24 THESPIRITOF 

that he was born in Wales, either in 1 598 or 1 599 ; 
and Knowles says, " He possessed the Welch tem- 
perament — excitable and ardent feelings, generosity, 
courage, and firmness, which sometimes, perhaps, 
had a touch of obstinacy." Of himself, Mr. Wil- 
liams says, " From my childhood, now about three 
score years, the Father of lights and mercies touched 
my soul with a love to himself, to his only begotten 
Son, the true Lord Jesus, to his holy scriptures," 
&c. 

It is said he became the ^ro^e^e of the celebrated 
Sir Edward Coke, in consequence of the ability 
manifested by him, in taking notes of a sermon, in 
church, while a boy. Sir Edward took him under 
his care, and gave him a collegiate education ; after 
which, he commenced the study of the law ; but 
preferring that of theology, he turned his attention 
to that, and was, in the end, ordained as a clergy- 
man of the Episcopal church. His preaching is 
said to have been highly esteemed, and his charac- 
ter to have been revered. 

Roger Williams came to America at about thirty- 
two years of age. He came over in the ship Lyon,* 
Capt. Peirce, from Bristol, Eng., together with his 
wife, and about twenty other passengers ; and ar- 
rived in Boston harbor, February 5, 1630-L 
^ See Note B. 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 25 

The assistant teacher of the church at Salem 
having died, Mr. Williams, by invitation from the 
church, assumed the office, in a few weeks after his 
arrival from England. But, in accordance with the 
spirit of those times, the civil authorities soon inter- 
fered in the matter, to dissolve the connexion be- 
tween him and the Salem church, on the charge of 
his being a schismatic. This charge was preferred 
on the ground that Mr. Williams had refused to 
unite with the church at Boston, because they would 
not proclaim their repentance for having communed 
with the churches of England ^ and that he had 
declared that the civil magistrate ought not to pun- 
ish the breach of the Sabbath, nor any other offence, 
as a breach of the first table of the law ; in other 
words, the four first commandments, which prescribe 
our duties to God. 

It would seem that the reason why Mr. Williams 
rebuked the church at Boston was, that many of 
the members, while in England, though dissatisfied 
with the corruptions of the English church, still 
continued their communion with it, through fear of 
legal consequences, till the time of leaving that 
country, and had not publicly repented of the act. 
That the magistrate ought not to punish breaches 
of duty of man to his God, needs now no explana- 
tion or defence. The soundness of the doctrine is 



26 THESPIRITOF 

admitted on all hands, though it is not, in all cases, 
carried out in practice. A letter was despatched 
by the court at Boston, desiring that the church at 
Salem would not proceed to invest Mr. Williams 
with the sacred office, till a conference had been 
held on the subject. But the Salem church disre- 
garded the mandate, and proceeded, on the very- 
day of the court, to the installation of Mr. Williams, 
as their teacher. In about a month afterwards, 
May 18, 1631, Mr. Williams was admitted a free- 
man of the Colony, and took the requisite oath. 
But he was not destined to occupy the field of his 
labors in peace. The hand of persecution was let 
loose upon him ; and before the next autumn after 
his settlement at Salem, he found it necessary to 
seek shelter and protection at Plymouth, out of the 
Massachusetts jurisdiction. 

It is not probable that this act of separation was 
voluntary on the part of the church, but brought 
about by circumstances beyond their control ; for 
all, even his enemies included, agree that Mr. Wil- 
liams was highly esteemed by the people of his 
charge, and was again received by them with open 
arms two years after his flight from Salem, and 
reinstated in the sacred office. He had also been 
received respectfully at Plymouth ; and, during his 



R G E R W I L L I A M S . 27 

Stay there, officiated as assistant teacher in the 
church in that place. 

The stay of Mr. Williams at Plymouth, intro- 
duced him to an intercourse with the Indians. 
They frequently visited the town, and he visited 
them in their native wilds, to study them, and 
qualify himself, as he said, to "Do the natives 
good." His after life proved this profession to 
have been sincere. In this manner he formed an 
acquaintance with Massassoit, or Ousamequin, Sa- 
chem of the Pokanokets, and with Canonicus, 
Chief of the Narragansets. This acquaintance, 
and the sentiments connected with it, proved after- 
wards of signal benefit, not only to him in his at- 
tempt to establish the Colony of Rhode Island, but 
also even to Massachusetts, from whose domain he 
was eventually driven, by unhallowed persecution. 
Indeed, it is thought he had imbibed the desire, and 
formed the intention, of taking up his residence 
among the Indians, previous to this period ; sup- 
posing he should not long be permitted to remain 
among his white brethren. 

It is said his opinions were not well received by 
the leading persons at Plymouth. Probably they 
were too much tinctured with freedom and equality, 
to suit their taste. Yet he was not censured by the 
church, and so great was the attachment to him, 



28 THESPIRITOF 

that, on his return to Salem, some accompanied him 
to that place. At Plymouth, his first daughter was 
born, in August, 1633, and called Mary, after her 
mother. Soon after his return to Salem, the Gene- 
ral Court thought proper, once more to call him to 
account ; and, December 27, 1633, the Governor 
and Assistants convened, to consult about him. 

The cause of offence, this time, was a treatise 
written to the Governor and Assistants, and to the 
Governor and Council of Plymouth, disputing their 
right to the lands they held by virtue of the King's 
grant, and holding that the mere act of discovery 
constituted not an ownership of the land ; and that 
it belonged not to the King, or to them, unless 
purchased of the natives. Also, that he had vir- 
tually charged King James with falsehood, by de- 
nying him to have been the first Christian discoverer 
of the land, as that monarch claimed : Also that 
he had charged King James with blasphemy, for 
calling Europe, Christendom, or the Christian world. 
Lastly, that he had applied to King Charles, three 
passages in Revelations ; though what passages, we 
are not told ; probably, however, not very compli- 
mentary ones. On being called upon to retract, he 
professed that the book was written only for the 
private satisfaction of the Governor and Council of 
Plymouth, and that no other copy w^ould have been 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 29 

forthcoming had it not been demanded by the Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts. He appeared again at the 
next court, and gave satisfaction ; and there the 
matier dropped. What may have been the lan- 
guage and spirit of the book, cannot now be known ; 
but, as far as the points stated above may go, they 
are not very far from truth. 

For a time, the magistrates let him alone. He 
continued in Salem ; and, on the death of INIr. 
Skelton, Pastor of the churcli, in August, 1634, he 
was invited to succeed him. The magistrates re- 
quested that he should not be ordained ; but the 
church, strongly attached to him, refused to be dic- 
tated, and Mr. Williams was ordained forthwith. 
This act was called " a great contempt of authority ;" 
and it proved the basis of subsequent persecution. 

Shortly after this, new charges came up against 
him from the court. He was charged with preach- 
ing against the validity of the King's patent, in vio- 
lation of an alleged promise not to do so; alluding 
probably to his "penitence,^' as it was called, in the 
case of the offensive treatise already spoken of; and 
also, that he had declared, that a magistrate ought 
not to tender an oath to an unregenerate man ; 
thereby having communion with a wicked man, and 
teaching him to take the name of God in vain. 
The first of these charges was preferred, and a sum- 



30 THESPIRITOF 

mons granted, Nov. 27, 1634 — the latter, April 30, 
1635. He was beard in his defence, before all the 
ministers, but we learn nothing farther, than that 
they claim that he was fully confuted. 

In July follow^ing, he was again called up ; and, 
on that occasion, the court seems to have brought up 
the old charge relative to punishment by the magis- 
trate, for breaches of the first table of the law, to- 
gether with that touching oaths, and two others, in 
which it is said he taught that a man ought not to 
pray with the unregenerate, nor to return thanks 
after the sacrament, nor after eating. The business 
was postponed ; and, in October of the same year, 
he was again called before the court, tried, and ban- 
ished from the colony. He subsequently received 
permission to remain till spring ; but continuing to 
receive company at his house, and to preach, the 
Governor and Assistants determined to send him to 
England. This determination, however, was not 
carried into effect ; for before the force arrived, sent 
to remove him, he had gone from his home, to seek 
an asylum elsewhere. 

Mr. Williams left Salem, in a bad state of health, 
in January, 1635-6, according to Knowles, and bent 
his course towards Narraganset Bay ; where he and 
others with him at Salem, it is thought, had for 
some time contemplated making an attempt to found 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 31 

a colony. According to his own account, his suf- 
ferings were intense ;* he having been, for fourteen 
weeks, destitute of bread to eat, or a bed to lie on ! 
Ousamequin, Sachem of Pokanoket, who resided at 
Mount Hope, near Bristol, R. I., it appears, gave 
him a grant of land in the, now, town of Seekonk. 
Here he sat down on a spot which, according to the 
information given by the late Moses Brown, to Mr. 
Knowles, apjDears to be that called Manton's Neck, 
between the Cove, so called, and Central Bridge. 
It is probable that, during the remainder of the 
winter, he depended on the Indians for subsistence ; 
and may allude to the fact, as Knowles says, in the 
following lines : — 

" God's Providence is rich to his, 
Let none distrustful be ; 
In wilderness, in great distress, 
These ravens have fied me." 

He had hoped to remain here, and took measures 
accordingly, and was joined by several friends ; his 
wife and children being still at Salem. But finding 
himself still within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, 
he, by the advice of Gov. Winslow, of Plymouth, 
determined to make another remove. Accordingly, 
lie embarked, with five others, in a canoe, and pro- 
ceeded down the river. At India Point, they were 

* See Note C. 



32 THESPIRITOF 

greeted by a company of Indians, with the friendly 
salutation of " What cheer V^'^ They proceeded 
around Fox Point, up what is now called Provi- 
dence river; and landed, as tradition says, on the 
east side, near the spring which still remains, near 
the site now occupied by the Rev. Doct. Crocker's 
[Episcopal] church, and near which spot he erected 
his habitation. 

The town, the settlement of which was thus 
commenced, Mr. Williams called Providence, in 
commemoration of the goodness of Divine Provi- 
dence to him, and this was the foundation of the 
Colony, now State, of Rhode Island. Strange as 
it may appear, even the precise year in which this 
event occurred has been involved in doubt ; but 
Mr. Knowles, after a long and patient investigation, 
has come to the conclusion that it took place in the 
summer of 1636; the same year in which the set- 
tlement of Hartford, Con., was commenced. 

Mr. Williams seems to have experienced little 
difficulty, if any, in procuring land from the natives, 
probably owing to the friendship and kindness he 
manifested for them, and the consequent respect they 
entertained for him, as is evident from the influence 
he subsequently exercised over them. Indeed, he 
says, " It was not thousands, nor tens of thousands 

* See Note D. 



ROGERWILLIAMS. 33 

of money could have bought of him [Canonicus] an 
Enghsh entrance into this bay." He farther says, 
that '• it was by God's mercies " he " was the pro- 
curer of the purchase," and that though the shyness 
and jealousy of the natives would have prevented it 
by means of money, he did it by means of acquaint- 
ance with their language, and favor with the natives, 
and other advantages w4iich it pleased God to give 
him. Other proofs exist, that the lands were granted 
rather as a favor to a friend, than for pecuniary con- 
siderations ; and the subsequent good understanding 
which prevailed between Mr. Williams and his 
Indian neighbors, showed that the confidence of 
neither had been misplaced. 

Of the lands originally purchased, Mr. Williams 
was honestly the legal proprietor ; but with a degree 
of liberality highly honorable to him, and which 
proved how little he was influenced by a mercenary- 
spirit, he divided them between him.self and his as- 
sociates, equally, and at the original cost. He might 
have remained proprietor of the whole, and retained 
in his own hands, a controlling power over the col- 
ony ; but his was the master spirit of equal rights 
in that bigoted and arbitrary age, and he forbore to 
avail himself of the favorable opportunity for per- 
sonal aggrandizement, to carry out in practice, what 
he had embodied in theory — the true principles of 



34 THESPIRITOF 

DEMOCRACY ; and established the first government 
of that description, known in the Christian world. 

We now find ]\Ir. Williams, an exile fi'om civil- 
ized society for conscience sake, probably in a state 
of poverty and almost destitution, surrounded by a 
few trusty friends who voluntarily shared his banish- 
ment, in a dreary wilderness, in the midst of a sav- 
age tribe, dependent on Providence and his personal 
efforts, for support for himself and a dependent and 
helpless family. But his firm and undaunted spirit 
did not quail. His trust was in God. He looked 
to the fulLU'e with unrshaken confidence, and in full 
possession of that freedom for which his soul panted, 
was happy, even amidst bodily sufi:ering. True to 
his own principles, he unfurled the banner of civil 
and religious freedom, and made the colony he had 
founded, a shelter from the oppressor, and an asy- 
lum for the oppressed, without respect to creeds and 
formularies, or the dogmatical dictation of bigoted 
and infatuated men. Hence it was, that the articles 
of agreement he drew up, required of those who 
should become associates with him, that they should 
submit themselves to such rules and regulations as 
might be adopted for the public good, " in civil 
things onhj.^^ 

As a proof of the magnanimity of Mr. Williams, in 
July of the same year of his banishment, when, in 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 35 

consequence of the murder of a Mr. Oldham, of 
Massachusetts, by the Indians, and retahatory meas- 
ures which followed, a bloody war with the Pequods 
appeared inevitable, he readily undertook a mission 
to the exasperated savages, at the solicitation of the 
government which had banished him from its domain. 
He " took his life in his hand ; " and in defiance of 
all hazard, proceeded to the Indian camp. And, 
although he could not prevent the war, his influence 
dissuaded the Naragansets from joining in it ; and 
by which means, the Pequods became an easy prey 
to the English, and were completely extirpated. 
Without his interference, the result might have been 
fatal to the English colonists. Yet, notwithstanding 
the friendly part he acted towards INIassachusetts in 
this affair, and his successful mediation between 
that government and the savages, they gave him no 
mark of favor, and did not even recall his sentence 
of banishment ! 

In 1635, Mr. Williams was called upon by the 
Governor of Massachusetts, a second time, to inter- 
pose his good offices with the Indians, to procure 
satisfaction for an act of violence and injustice. 
Forgetful of the wrongs, the violence, and the in- 
justice, which he had received at the hands of his 
persecuting brethren, he again set forward on the 
mission of peace. He met the savage chief, and 



36 THESPIRITOF 

demanded satisfaction. It was promptly accorded, 
and war and bloodshed prevented ; and yet, Roger 
Williams remained a banished man ! 

Mr. Williams was originally of the church of 
England, but broke from that communion, though 
he appears never to have united w^ith much cordial- 
ity with the Puritans of New England. Indeed, 
however mutually conformable may have been their 
religious opinions, their spirits were so totally dis- 
similar from each other, that a union between them, 
would have been like that of oil and vinegar. Dur- 
ing the first two or three years of the infancy of 
the new colony, no church appears to have been 
organized, though meetings of worship were holden, 
and Mr. Williams preached to the people. But, in 
1638-9, he had become a believer in the necessity 
of baptism by immersion, and, in March of that 
year, he and ten others were baptized by Mr. Hol- 
liman. A church was then formed, said to be the 
first Baptist church ever constituted in the British 
dominions; and of which we shall say more here- 
after. 

During several years, we find little said of Mr. 
Williams, and less that demands a place in this 
brief sketch. Once more he w^as called upon by 
Massachusetts, to mediate with the Narragansets. 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 37 

MiantinomO; their Chief, was desired to repair to 
Boston. This, he promised to do. provided Mr. 
Williams would accompany him. This, the au- 
thorities of Massachusetts would not allow ; and 
the interview did not take place. This circum- 
stance affords evidence of the confidence reposed in 
Mr. Williams, by the natives, and of the bigotry 
and ingratitude of the government of Massachusetts. 
Even so far was this intolerant spirit carried, that, 
on account of her fundamental principle of entire 
religious freedom, Rhode Island was excluded from 
the confederacy of the New England Colonies, 
formed in 1643, for mutual protection against the 
savages, and never after permitted to join it. Con- 
nected with this affair, is a glorious fact, which 
should ever occupy the most prominent place, on 
the most resplendent page, of New England's early 
history. Though left, weak and feeble as she was, 
to her own resources, without a military force of 
any magnitude, by the peaceful, conciliatory, and 
honorable course, pursued by Mr. Williams and his 
associates, Rhode Island maintained peace for her- 
self, (while her sister colonies suffered the horrid 
ravages of Indian warfare,) without an appeal to 
arms ; and by the persevering exercise of her influ- 
ence with the savage tribes, did much to appease 
their wrath^ and to soften the rigors of war. 



38 THESPIRITOF 

In 1643, Mr. Williams visited England. On his 
passage, he threw together his materials for ^' A Key 
TO THE Indian Language;" which was finished 
and printed in the same year; and, during his stay 
in England, he wrote and published his book enti- 
tled "The Bloody Tenet of Persecution of 
the Cause of Conscience," &lc. On this visit, 
also, he procured the charier for tlie colony of 
Rhode Island, bearing date, March 14, 1643-4 ; 
and arrived again in America, September 17, 1644 ; 
He landed at Boston, being emboldened to do so 
by letters he bore from sundry leading men in Eng- 
land ; but though he was permitted to proceed 
quietly to Providence, yet the sentence of banish- 
ment was neither revoked nor ameliorated. He 
was met at Seekonk on his return, by citizens of 
Providence, and received by them with a respect 
and cordiality, characteristic of their gratitude to 
hun for his services, and their affection for him as a 
man and a brother. 

The authorities of Massachusetts had obtained 
possession of the person of Miantinomo, the Narra- 
ganset chief, and, for some alleged offence, caused 
him to be executed at Boston. His people consid- 
ered this as an act of murder, and determined to 
avenge it, by making war on the IMohegans, who 
had delivered him up, and on all the colonies ex- 



R O G E R W I L L I A M S . 39 

cept Providence and Rhode Island. Massachusetts 
raised a military force, to act in the emergency, and 
despatched messengers to the Narragansels, to 
treat of peace. The attempt to negotiate proved 
unsuccessful. INIessengers were a second time sent. 
In the mean time, the Narraganset sachems had 
solicited the advice of Mr. Williams, and being also 
called on for aid by the INIassachusetts messengers, 
he Interposed between the hostile parties, and 
effected a treaty of peace ; thus again preventing a 
dreadful war. 

The first General Assembly of the colony was 
held at Newport, May 19, 1647 ; and Roger Wil- 
liams was elected Assistant, for Providence ; and 
the Assembly established a '• democraticaV^ govern- 
ment, or a government by the ^^ free and voluntary 
consent" of the people; and in which, the utmost 
latitude is given to the conscience in matters of 
religion; and providing that "All men may walk 

AS THEIR CONSCIENCES PERSUADE THEM, EVERY 
ONE IN THE NAME OF HIS GoD." 

For his faithful services, the General Assembly 
passed a vote of thanks to Mr. Williams, who had 
been chiefly instrumental in the great and noble 
work, and made him a grant of one hundred pounds ; 
a large sum for the limes, and the circumstances of 
the colony, but a poor equivalent for his labors, his 



40 THESPIRITOF 

services, and his sacrifices. Yet it was doubtless 
received as it was awarded — as a token of gratitude 
and respect, to the man the people delighted to 
honor. 

Though peace had been maintained with the 
Indians, internal strife on political questions, and 
disputes about boundaries among themselves, and 
the overbearing conduct of their neighbor colonists, 
began to mar the peace of the community, and con- 
tinued for many years. But, during that period of 
trouble, Mr. Williams maintained his characteristic 
firmness and integrity, and did much to allay the 
flame of discord. His letters, from which our nar- 
row limits will not permit us to make extracts, show 
how deeply he felt and suffered, from the existence 
of these evils, how great an interest he took in the 
welfare of the colony, and what personal sacrifices 
he was willing to make, to promote it. 

In 1651, Mr. Williams visited England a second 
time. His object was, to procure a revocation of 
the commission of Coddington, by which Rhode 
Island had been separated from the present colony. 
He was met with opposition, but succeeded in his 
mission ; and the commission of Coddington was 
vacated, and the former charter confirmed. About 
this time, he published several controversial works, 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 41 

in reply to various attacks made upon him, but to 
wfeida we have not room to refer, even by name. 

After Mr. Williams's return, Massachusetts steadi 
ly refused to change her policy respecting him. But, 
we find a letter dated by him, Boston, 17 3 (mo.) 
'56 ; and we learn from a note of his, to the General 
Court, that he was in that town, by virtue of an 
order from " The Lords of his Higlmess's Council." 

By the General Assembly of Rhode Island, he 
was elected President, and held that office two 
years. It was a period of civil discord in the parent 
country, in the time of the Commonwealth, under 
Ohver Cromwell. The effects were felt in the 
colonies ; and they rendered the station occupied 
by Mr. Williams, uncomfortable to him. It was 
during this period, that he caused the arrest of 
William Harris,, for alleged hostility to Cromwell's 
government, and caused him to be imprisoned, for 
the purpose of sending him to England for trial. 
The measure, right or wrong, was not sanctioned 
by public opinion. This event occurred February 
1, 1657-8, and in INlay following, Mr. Williams 
was superceded by the election of some one else, 
as President. Yet, he continued to be elected 
Assistant, from Providence, and occupied his seat 
at the Board. Harris, it would seem, was a trouble- 
some man. In 1667, there was much disturbance 



^^ THESPIRITOF 

in Providence. Two sets of Deputies were elected. 
Harris was elected by one party. But he was ex- 
pelled from ihe Assembly, and fined forty pounds. 

In 1G67, Mr. ^Villiams closed his public life as a 
legislator, refusing to serve on account of his age. 

During his long, arduous and highly useful life, 
or that part of it spent in Ameiica, this worthy man 
was freqenlly called out to defend himself against 
the hostile attacks of his enemies and opponents, 
and in defence of the colony of which, under God, 
he was the parent, against the violence and machi- 
nations of those who sought either to destroy it, or 
to subject it to arbitrary rule. In som^'of his wait- 
ings he wasvKitter, and especially in his controversy 
with the Quakers. But this fault ought not to be 
ascribed to any deficiency in the goodness of his 
heart, when we recollect how^ much he did, and how 
much he suffered, to promote the welfare, not only 
of his friends, but of his bitterest enemies ; while, at 
the same time, he accorded to all others, the same 
privilege he claimed himself, to believe as their 
consciences might dictate, and to defend their own 
opinions in their own way. His temperament was 
ardent, and his feelings may have been somewhat 
soured by the bitter persecution he had suffered ; 
and these circumstances may have, in a measure, 
imparted their tone to his controversial writings. But 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 43 

no one who scans his conduct, and scrutinises his 
character, can rightfully accuse him of a want of 
philanthropy, ol social or public virtue, or genuine 
benevolence. 

If we may judge from what appears in the history 
of the man, his character had no tincture of avarice, 
and no more of selfishness than is necessary to self- 
preservation, and the purest principles of Christian 
morality. His life was spent for the good of man- 
kind ; and without grasping the means put into his 
hands, as the source of his own exclusive emolu- 
ment, he generously declined to avail himself of the 
opportunity ; and with a degree of liberality seldom 
known among men, voluntarily shared those means 
with others. Yet, with all this nobility of charac- 
ter and conduct, he was not boastful. His letters 
speak the language of modest humility ; and while, 
with an honest and virtuous pride, he seems meas- 
urably sensible of the great benefit she has conferred, 
he ascribes all to the God of his soul's adoration, in 
whose bounty and goodness he rejoices, and ac- 
knowledges himself an humble instrument in his 
hands, and a dependent on his great mercy. 

Thus lived Roger Williams — the first of cham- 
pions in the cause of civil and religious freedom, 
and the noble founder of the first free government 
in Christendom. Posterity should cherish his mem- 



44 THE SPIRIT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 

ory with gratitude, and do honor to his virtues by 
copying his bright example. 

He continued his public ministry to an advanced 
age, and was gathered to his fathers in peace. He 
die J in the year 1683, aged eighty-four years. 

" Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ; for 
they rest from their labors, and their works do fol- 
low them." 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

ROGER WILLIAMS CHURCH. 



As this church; which was organized by Roger 
Williams, is the oldest Baptist church in America, 
it may not be deemed inappropriate to give some 
account of it in this place. " Its first members 
were twelve in number, viz. : Roger Williams, 
Ezekiel Holliman, William Arnold, William Harris, 
Stukeley Westcot, John Green, Richard Waterman, 
Thomas James, Robert Cole, William Carpenter, 
Francis Weston, and Thomas Olney." 

Mr. Benedict, in his History of the Baptists, says, 
" Mr. Williams and those with him considered the 
importance of gospel union, and were desirous of 
forming themselves into a church, but met with a 
considerable obstruction; they were convinced of 



46 THESPIRITOF 

the nature and design of believers' baptism by ina- 
mersion ; but, from a variety of circumstances, bad 
hitherto been prevented from submission. To ob- 
tain a suitable administrator was a matter of conse- 
quence. At length the candidates for communion 
nominated Mr. Ezekiel Holliman, a man of gifts 
and piety, to baptise IMr. Williams ; and who, in re- 
turn, baptised Mr. Holliman and the other ten. 
This church was soon joined by twelve other per- 
sons, who came to this new settlement, and abode 
in harmony and peace." 

Thus Mr- Williams, after having passed through 
the vicissitudes of first leaving England with the 
persecuted dissenters ; then leaving Salem, where 
he was first settled, for Plymouth — where, as a 
preacher, he was eloquent and popular ; then leav- 
ing Plymouth for Salem, again, to take charge of 
the church which first enjoyed the benefits of his 
instruction, from whence he was banished for '' pub- 
licly avowing that Christ alone is King in his own 
kingdom, and that no others had authority over 
his subjects, in the affairs of conscience and eternal 
salvation.'^ And now^, again, he is pastor of the 
little flock whose members, with himself, asserted 
the right of private judgment, in practice as well as 
principle, and who followed their own convictions 



R O G E R W I L L I A >I S . 47 

of duty, untrammeled by human dictation, either civil 
or ecclesiastical. 

Mr. Holliman was subsequently chosen assistant 
to Mr. Williams. The precise length of time which 
Mr. Williams continued in his pastoral office is not 
known. Some accounts state three, or four years — 
and others, but about four months. One fact is 
certain, however ; that he continued to preach the 
doctrine of redemption, through Jesus Christ, until 
his death. Many years after the organization of 
this church, when the affairs of the colony did not 
absorb his time, he was preaching to the natives^ 
in their own tongue, whose language he had learned 
to speak. It may emphatically be said of him, as 
of our Saviour, '^ He ivent about, doing good. ''^ 

There were ten other ministers, who succeeded each 
other, in the pastoral charge of this church, down 
to the time when the Rev. Dr. Manning, founder 
of the Rhode Island College, now called Brown 
University, became its pastor. Elder Samuel Wind- 
sor was the predecessor of Elder Manning, to whom 
he (Manning) was first employed as assistant. 

Immediately after Mr. Manning was invited 
to become the assistant of Elder Windsor, it was 
found that they did not precisely agree in their 
sentiments. Elder Windsor copied, with great pre- 
cision, after the venerable founder of the church, 



48 THESPIRITOF 

Roger Williams. When Mr. Williams became 
a Baptist, he copied closely after the " Old," or 
^^ General Baptist," of England. The general 
Baptists, of his times, were designated from the 
particular Baptists, in two points: First, they did 
not believe in particular election, but in general 
redemption; hence came the term, o-eTie^'oZ Baptist. 
Their own words are as follow : — " God hath pre- 
destinated that all that believe on him, shall be 
saved ; and all that believe not, shall be damned. 
And this is the election and reprobation spoken of 
in the scriptures ; not that God has predestinated 
men to be wicked, or to be damned, but that men, 
being wicked, shall be damned." The second dis- 
tinction was, instead of holding to the "five points" 
merely, they held to six: hence comes the term, 
six-'principle Baptist, as used in Rhode Island, 
when applied to the " Old Baptists," who are found 
almost exclusively in this State. The additional 
principle consists in the form of " laying on of 
hands," which this sect, both in England and 
America, believe to be an ordinance, — and attach 
the same importance to it that they do to baptism, 
or communion. 

Roger Williams constituted his church on these 
six principles^* and each succeeding minister fol- 

* These principles are found in Hebrews, vi. 1, 2. 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 49 

lowed faithfully in his steps, down to Elder Man- 
ning's day. He believed in " transient communion,^^ 
or in admitting those to the communion, on whom 
hands had not been laid, if they had been baptised. 
It was also said that Elder Manning: believed in 
" special grace," or particular election. 

Elder Manning's piety, and "his forcible and 
charming eloquence," carried a majority of the 
church with him. Elder Windsor, being a man of 
stern integrity, was grieved with this innovation. 
A church meeting was accordingly called, and the 
subject discussed ; but when the vote was taken, it 
was found that a majority were for Elder Manning, 
and consequently for " transient communion." It 
was then left to the next association. The associa- 
tion, however, declined an interference, and referred 
the case back to the church — but there the case 
had been already settled. Viewing the church as 
having deviated from the true ground, and from the 
" old paths," Elder Windsor, with his party, sent in 
his resignation, in these words : — 

^* Dear Brethren and Sisters, — We must, in con- 
science, withdraw ourselves from all those who do 
not hold strictly to the six principles of the doctrine 
of Christ, as laid down in Hebrews, vi. 1, 2." 

A final separation now ensued. Elder Windsor 
found a respectable minority with him, in his effort 
4 



50 THESPIRITOF 

to maintain the orthodox side of the question ; so 
that when the reorganization took place, including 
" the Elder, and Deacon John Dyer, there were 
eighty-seven members." Dr. Manning w^as now 
constituted sole pastor of the dissenting party. He 
was a man of hio;h moral standin<i, and stroni]^ intel- 
lectual powers ; and being, withal. President of 
Rhode Island College, his superior attitude left the 
old senior pastor quite in the shade. Thus situated, 
Mr. Windsor thought it prudent, especially as it 
would accommodate many of the members, to erect 
their new house of worship in the adjoining town of 
Johnston. Report says, that the property of the 
old meeting house, in which Elder Windsor wor- 
shipped, was sold, and the proceeds amicably 
divided between the two parlies. Dr. Manning's 
church built that magnificent pile, now the ])ride of 
Providence city, called the First Baptist Church. 
Elder Windsor's humble edifice was erected in 1774, 
w^iere it now stands, in ruins, about two miles west 
of Providence. Here the orthodox church wor- 
shipped God, "unitedly established in the six princi- 
ples of Christ's doctrine, upon which it was found- 
ed by the Rev. Roger Williams." Mr. Windsor 
lived, after the new organization, to see "a glorious 
reformation take place, under his labors, in which 
there were about fifty members added in one year." 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 51 

Elder Windsor died in the year 1S02, in the fiftieth 
year of his ministry, in the eighty-first year of his 
age, universally respected. 

From the time that Elder Windsor died, it would 
seem that this church began rapidly to decline. In 
1830, the house being in a dilapidated state, and 
the members few and feeble. Elder William C. 
Manchester, their pastor, proposed to leave it ; and, 
as there were some scattering members in Provi- 
dence city, who were on the true ground of the 
six principles, he took with him such ones as this 
arrangement would accommodate, and opened wor- 
ship in a school-house belonging to Sheldin Batty, 
Esq., in the city — whence arose the Roger Wil- 
liams Church in the west part of Providence. JXow 
for the name ! The precedence of creed or princi- 
pJes ]us\\y entitled them to the distinction of ^^First " 
Baptist Church in Providence. But they were now 
located within sight of one tall spire which is already 
thus designated. The pride of ancestry forbade 
their being called the Fifth Baptist Church. They 
therefore concluded, that, as they had carefully ad- 
hered to the principles of their venerable founder, 
and as an unbroken succession* could be traced back 

* It is not unworthy of notice, that Benajah Williams, jr. 
the only Deacon of this church, is a descendant of Roger Wil- 
liams. In his account of himself to the writer, he says: 



52 THESPIRITOF 

to the organization by Roger Williams, the most 
appropriate name would be the Roger Williams 
Baptist Church. The pulpit stands between two 
pillars of prodigious size, for the interior of a church. 
If they were embossed with Corinthian capitals, 
and stone color, they would convey impressions of 
high antiquity. On the face of the pulpit is placed 
an Italian marble slab, on which is engraved these 
words : *' Erected in memory of Roger Williams." 
Some persons have affected to laugh at so humble 
an effort to place before the eye of our rising race, 
a clue to the name, of which all Rhode Island 
might well be proud. But unintelligible, and 
unworthy of the man as this inscription may 
seem to be, we think it unappropriate for the citi- 
zens of Providence at least, to indulge in one 

" My great-grandfather, Nathaniel Williams, was the great- 
grandson of Roger Williams, which places me in the sixth 
generation from our venerable ancestor." To avoid all mis- 
take we went to the old burying ground of the ^ViIliams fam- 
ily, laying some three or four miles from Providence, in the 
town of Cranston, where we found the head stone, 1st. of 
Joseph Williams, Esq., son of Roger Williams ; 2d, of James 
"Williams, son of Joseph Williams; 3d, Nathaniel Williams, 
son of James Williams; and 4th, of Fredrick Williams, son 
of Nathaniel Williams; 5th, Benajah Williams, who is now 
living, is the son of Fredrick Williams, deceased, and Benajah 
Williams jr.. Deacon of the Roger Williams Church, whose 
portrait is found in this little book, is the son of Benajah 
Williams, the senior. 



ROGERWILLIAMS. 53 

smile of contempt, until it be surpassed by some 
nobler effort. For be it known, that while there 
are men in Providence, the interest of whose for- 
tunes for one day only, would be a sufficient sum 
to erect a monument, on which, the inscription 
might tell to ev^ery passing traveller, 

" The sufferings great 
Which father Williams in his exile bore ; " 

yet no such monument is found. But now, unless 
the stranger, standing in Market Square, should 
chance to look up, and read " Roger Williams 
Bank," he will find nothing in Providence to remind 
him that it is the city, as well as the land of Roger 
Williams, except in a walk to the margin of the 
city, he should find his way into the Roger Williams 
church and take his seat in front of the pulpit. 

In the spring of 1837, Elder Manchester resigned 
his pastoral charge. The church was now again 
without reo;ular meetinos. In the mean time, for hav- 
mg adopted instrumental music, in conformity with 
other churches of the city, the Conference of six 
principle Baptist churches, had disfranchised it, as a 
sister church ; for they believed, with the Mahomet- 
ans, that it is a sin against God to praise his name 
with any instrument except the human voice. Being 
thus alone, they feared, as well they might, in this 
sectarian age, that there would be little sympathy 



54 THESPIRITOF 

for them among neighboring ministers and churches, 
until they were again recognised as a sister church, 
by some sect. They, therefore, applied to the 
RJiode Island quarterly meeting of Free will Baptist 
churches, for admission into their fellowship, with 
the proviso, that they should not be required to 
make any change in their faith or usages. On 
examination, it w^as found that there was no need of 
a change of faith, for in theology they believed 
alike. Then, as to usage, the quarterly meeting 
responded : " We do not differ, only in the one 
point of laying on of hands, and this is most cer- 
tainly an innocent j)ractice. Why, then, refuse 
them ? Let this church peaceably enjoy it " — 
and they were admitted as a sister church. At this 
time the male resident members were few, and, in 
a comparison with the debts standing against the 
church, they were feeble; for they owed between 
twelve and thirteen hundred dollars for their house — 
all of which must be paid within one brief year. 

This was the state of this church, when the 
writer of these sheets left a more lucrative agency, 
and ensiaijed his humble serv^ices to them. To 
support a family and pay these debts, required that 
there should be raised about eighteen hundred dol- 
lars. A train of means* were commenced, which has 

* See Note E. 



ROGERWILLIAMS. 55 

nearly accomplished the desired result. The year 
for which his services were engaged has expired, 
when we aijain resume our former labors in the 
cause of temperance. Important additions have 
been made to the church, through the past year, 
and under the labors of a more aUe minister than 
himself, which the writer has had the great satisfac- 
tion of seeing settled, we think there cannot fail to 
be continued prosperity to the Roger Williams 
Baptist Church 



APPENDIX. 



NOTE A. 

THE ROGER WILLIAMS' SPRING. 

Tradition has uniformly stated the place where 
Roger Williams, and the five others who came with 
him in a canoe from Seekonk, landed, to be at a 
spring south west of the Episcopal (St. John's) Church. 

On the 4th of July of this year, (183S) the friends 
of temperance in Providence, held a temperance cel- 
ebration. They had a rich treat in an address from 
L. M. Sargent, Esq., author of the Temperance 
Tales ; afterwards they dined together, being favored 
with the presence of Rev. Mr. Pierpont and other 
gentlemen from Boston, besides a large number of 
both ladies and gentlemen of Providence city and the 
adjacent towns. At the table a number of very ex- 
cellent sentiments were offered touching the great 



APPENDIX. 57 

cause and its promoters, among which were the two 
following : 

** The fourth of July of 183S — the first celebration 
of this day on which the ladies could attend with pro- 
priety." This sentiment was offered with reference 
to the fact that there was no drink used on the occa- 
sion stronger than cold water brought from the Roger 
Williams' spring. 

The other sentiment was offered by John Rowland, 
Esq., the venerable antiquarian : 

*• Roger Williams — The first friend of temperance 
in Rhode Island. By his will he bequeathed us a 
spring of cold water." 

Among the originals prepared and sung on the 
occasion, was the following beautiful hymn. 

ROGER Williams' sprixg. 
Some sing the praise of rosy wine, 

Its sparkling color bright ; 
But in such songs with ihem to join 

We cannot take delight. 
We have a rich and noble theme. 

Fit for a prince and king — 
'Tis water, pure, and fresh, and good. 

From Roger Williams' spring. 

This will give health, and joy, and peace, 

Refreshing every power; 
We want no belter drink than this 

In trial's darkest hour. 
To cheer the heart and quench the thirst 

It is the very thing ; 



58 APPENDIX. 

Then givr us water, pure and good, 
From Roger Williams' spring. 

Our sires drank from this living spring 

Two hundred years ago ; 
And from this fountain, water clear 

Continues sliil to flow. 
Then we, on this our festal day, 

Will of its virtues sing. 
And drink this water, pure and good, 

From Roger Williams spring. 

This was a glorious day to tlie cause of temper- 
ance. The Rhode Island State Temperance Society 
has not been behind in its labors to promote this great 
reform — nor is their work, or their disposition to work, 
yet through. We had not the pleasure of being pre- 
sent at the last annual meeting ; but from our knowl- 
edge of the cause as it exists in Rhode Island, our 
opinion is, that, even though there are some of our 
clergy who suffer their silence on the subject to be 
construed into a fear of offending their spirit-selling 
supporters, yet there has never been a period when so 
much talent, and moral power, could be brought into 
the field, as the friends of temperance can at present 
command. Because the Rhode Island General Assem- 
bly have seen fit so far to disgrace themselves in the 
eyes of all wise and good men, as, at their June session, 
to pass a law prohibiting the retailing of intoxicating 
drink in a less quantity than ten gallons; and in their 
Oct. session of the same year, before there was a chance 
for the new law to go into effect, to repeal it — thereby 



APPENDIX. 



59 



condemning the experiment before it was tried ; — be- 
cause of this, some have raised the hue and cry of 
'' reaction." *' The cause," say they, *' is injured by 
its friends, by carrying things too far." " The cause 
is carried back ten years," &c., &c. — but all this is a 
mistake ! — The cause is advancing. If it be thought, 
because politicians do not act right on temperance, 
that those who always have, and do still believe it to 
be a great moral question, are becoming discouraged, 
they will, doubtless, find themselves exceedingly mis- 
taken. There are those who have put their hand to 
the plough, with the pledge not to man only, but to 
God, that they will not look back while life shall last 
— whose chief reliance, (whatever legislatures may 
do, for or against the cause) for the triumph of this 
work, is on the agency of truth and the blessing of 
heaven. 



NOTE B. 

The vessel which brought Mr. Williams, was a 
regular colony ship. Great as the sufferings were of 
the first settlers of New England, perhaps there 
was no time when their distresses were greater than 
at the arrival of the ship Lyon. The following 
account of it is taken from Hutchinson's History, 
which it may not be unprofitable to read. 



60 APPENDIX. 

The weather held tolerable till the 24th of Decem- 
ber, but the cold then came on with violence. Such 
a Christmas eve they had never seen before. From 
that time to the 10th of February their chief care was 
to keep themselves warm, and as comfortable in other 
respects as their scanty provisions would permit. The 
poorer sort were much exposed, lying in tents and 
miserable hovels, and many died of the scurvy and 
other distempers. They were so short of provisions 
that many were obliged to live on clams, muscles, and 
other shell fish, with ground nuts and acorns, instead 
of bread. One that came to the Governor's house to 
complain of his sufferings, was prevented, being in- 
formed that even there the last batch [of bread] was 
in the oven. They had appointed the 22d day of 
February for a fast ; but on the 5th, to their great 
joy, the ship Lyon, Capt. Pierce, returned laden with 
provisions, from England, which were distributed ac- 
cording to the necessities of the people. They turned 
their fast into a '' thank sgivmgJ' This was the be- 
ginning of our New England thanksgiving-days. 



NOTE C. 

The following very interesting letter was first pub- 
lished in the first volume of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Collections : 



APPENDIX. 61 

" Providence^ June 22, 1670, (ui vulgo.) 
" Major Mason,* 
" My honored, dear and ancient friend, my due 
respects and earnest desires to God, for your eternal 
peace, &:c. 

" I crave your leave and patience to present you 
with some kw considerations, occasioned by the late 
transactions between your colony and ours. The last 

* " Major Mason — famous for his services, while captain, in 
the Pequod war. He was a soldier in ihe Low Countries, 
under Sir Thomcs Fairfax, one of the first settlers of Dor- 
chester, Mass. in 1630. He afterwards removed to Windsor, 
Conn. He put an end to the Pequod war, in 1C38; was ap- 
pointed, soon after. Major General of the Connecticut forces, 
and in May, IGGO, was elected Deputy Governor of that 
colony. He died at Norwich, in the seventy-third year of 
his age, in 1G72 or 1673. An account of the Pequod war was 
published by him, republished in Hubbard's Narrative, and 
by Rev. T. Prince. In the fourth volume of the Massachu- 
setts historical Collections, a curious poem is published, of 
Governor Wolcott's, giving an account of his predecessor 
Winthrop's embassy to the Court of Charles \\, to obtain a 
charter, in which Mason is mentioned with the hiirhest eulo- 
gies. Winthrop is made to give the King a relation, among 
other things, of the Pequod war, and says : 

' The army now drawn up : to be their head 
Our valiant Mason was commissioned 5 
(Wliose name is never mentioned by rae, 
Without a special note of dignity.'} 

" In granting the charter, Charles speaks thus : 

' Chief In the patent, Winthrop, thou shall stand, 
And valiant Mason place at thy next hand.' " 



62 



APPENDIX. 



year you were pleased, in one of your lines to me, to 
tell me that you longed to see my face once more be- 
fore you died. I embraced your love, though I feared 
my old lame bones, and yours, had arrested travelling 
in this world, and therefore I was and am ready to 
lay hold on all occasions of writing, as I do at present. 

** The occasion, I confess, is sorrowful, because I 
see yourselves, with others, embarked in a resolution 
to invade and despoil your poor countrymen, in a 
wilderness, and your ancient friends, of our temporal 
and soul liberties. 

" It is sorrowful, also, because mine eye beholds a 
black and doleful train of grievous, and, I fear, bloody 
consequences, at the heel of this business, both to you 
and us. The Lord is righteous in all our afflictions, 
that is a maxim ; the Lord is gracious to all oppressed, 
that is another ; he is most gracious to the soul that 
cries and waits on him : that is silver, tried in the fire 
seven times. 

" Sir, I am not out of hopes, but that while your 
aged eyes and mine are yet in their orbs, and^ not yet 
sunk down into their holes of rottenness, we shall 
leave our friends and countrymen, our children and 
relations, and this land, in peace, behind us. To this 
end. Sir, please you with a calm and steady and a 
Christian hand, to hold the balance and to weigh 
these few considerations, in much love and due re- 
spect presented : 

" First. When I was unkindly and unchristianly, 



APPENDIX. 63 

as I believe, driven from my house and land and wife 
and children, (in the midst of a New England winter, 
now about thirty-five years past,) at Salem, that ever- 
honored Governor, Mr. Wintlirop, privately wrote to 
me to steer my course to the Narraganset Bay and 
Indians, for many high and heavenly and public ends, 
encouraging me, from the freeness of the place from 
any English claims or patents. I took his prudent 
motion as a hint and voice from God, and waving all 
other thoughts and motions, I steered my course from 
Salem (though in winter snow, which I feel yet) unto 
these parts, wlierein I may say Peniel, that is, I have 
seen the face of God. 

** Second. I first pitched, and begun to build and 
plant at Seekonk, now Rehoboth, but I received a 
letter from my ancient friend, Mr. Winslow, then 
Governor of Plymouth, professing his own and others' 
love and respect to me, yet lovingly advising me, since 
I was fallen into the edge of their bounds, and they 
were loth to displease the Bay, to remove but to the 
other side of the water, and then, he said, I had the 
country free before me, and might be as free as them- 
selves, and we should be loving neighbors together. 
These were the joint understandings of these two 
eminently wise and Christian Governors and others, 
in their day, together with their counsel and advice 
as to the freedom and vacancy of this place, which in 
this respect, and many other Providences of the Most 
Holy and Only Wise, I called Providence. 



64 APPENDIX. 

*' Tliird. Sometime after, the Plymouth great sa- 
chem, (Ousamaquin*) upon occasion, affirming that 
Providence was liis land, and therefore Plymouth's 
land, and some resenting it, the then prudent and 
godly Governor, Mr. Bradford, and others of his godly 
council, answered, that if, after due examination, it 
should be found true what the barbarian said, yet 
having, to my loss of a harvest that year, been now 
(though by their gentle advice) as good as banished 
from Plymouth as from the Massachusetts, and I had 
quietly and patiently departed from them, at their 
motion, to the place where now I was, I should not 
be molested and tossed up and down again, while they 
had breath in their bodies; and surely, between those, 
my friends of the Bay and Plymouth, 1 was sorely 
tossed, for one fourteen weeks, in a bitter winter sea- 
son, not knowing what bread or bed did mean, beside 
the yearly loss of no small matter in my trading with 
English and natives, being debarred from Boston, the 
chief mart and port of New England. God knows 
that many thousand pounds cannot repay the very 
temporary losses I have sustained. It lies upon the 
Massachusetts and me, yea, and other colonies joining 
with them, to examine, with fear and trembling, be- 
fore the eyes of flaming fire, the true cause of all 
my sorrows and sufferings. It pleased the Father ol 
spirits to touch many hearts, dear to him, with some 

* Commonly called Massassoit. 



APPENDIX. 65 

relentings ; amongst which, that great and pious soul, 
Mr. Winslow, melted, and kindly visited me, at Provi- 
dence, and put a piece of gold into the hands of my 
wife, for our supply. 

"Fourth. When, the next year after my banish- 
ment, the Lord drew the bow of the Pequod war 
against the country, in which. Sir, the Lord made 
yourself, with others, a blessed instrument of peace to 
all New England, I had my share of service to the 
whole land in that Pequod business, inferior to very 
few that acted, for, 

" L Upon letters received from the Governor and 
Council at Boston, requesting me to use my utmost 
and speediest endeavors to break and hinder the 
league labored for by the Pequods against the Mohe- 
gans, and Pequods against the English, (excusing the 
not sending of company and supplies, by the haste of 
the business,) the Lord helped me immediately to put 
my life into my hand, and, scarce acquainting my 
v^'ik, to ship myself, all alone, in a poor canoe, and to 
cut through a stormy wind, with great seas, every 
minute in hazard of life, to the sachem's house. 

" 2. Three days and nights my business forced me 
to lodge and mix with the bloody Pequod ambassa- 
dors, whose hands and arms, methought, wreaked 
with the blood of my countrymen, murdered and 
massacred by them on Connecticut river, and from 
whom I could not but nightly look for their bloody 
knives at my own throat also. 
5 



06 



APPENDIX. 



"3, When God vvondrously preserved me, and helped 
me to break to pieces the Pequod's negotiation and 
design, and to make, and promote and finish, by 
many travels and charges, the English league with 
the Narragansets and Mohegans against the Pequods, 
and that the English forces marched up to the Narra- 
ganset country against the Pequods, I ghidly enter- 
tained, at my house in Providence, the General 
Stoughton and his officers, and used my utmost care 
that all his officers and soldiers should be well accom- 
modated with us. 

"4. I marched up with them to the Narraganset 
sachems, and brought my countrymen and the barba- 
rians, sachems and captains, to a mutual confidence 
and complacence, each in other. 

" 5. Though I was ready to have marched fiirther, 
yet, upon agreement that I should keep at Providence, 
as an agent between the Bay and the army, I returned, 
and was interpreter and intelligencer, constantly re- 
ceiving and sending letters to the Governor and Coun- 
cil at Boston, &.C., in which work I judge it no im- 
pertinent digression to recite (out of the many scores 
of letters, at times, from Mr. Winthrop,) this one pious 
and heavenly prophecy, touching all New England, 
of that gallant man, viz. : ' If the Lord turn away 
his face from our sins, and bless our endeavors and 
yours, at this time, against our bloody enemy, we and 
our children shall long enjoy peace, in this, our wil- 
derness condition/ And himself and some other of 



APPENDIX. 67 

the Council motioned, and it was debated, whether 
or no I had not merited, not only to be recalled from 
banishment, but also to be honored with some remark 
of favor. It is known who hindered, who never pro- 
moted the liberty of other men's consciences. These 
things, and ten times more, I could relate, to show 
that 1 am not a stranger to the Pequod wars and lands, 
and possibly not far from the merit of a foot of land in 
either country, which I have not. 

"5. Considering (upon frequent exceptions against 
Providence men) that we had no authority for civil 
government, I went purposely to England, and upon 
my report and petition, the Parliament granted us a 
charter of government for these parts, so judged vacant 
on all hands. And upon this, the country about us 
was more friendly, and wrote to us, and treated us as 
an authorized colony; only the difference of our con- 
sciences much obstructed. The bounds of this, our 
first charter, I (having ocular knowledge of persons, 
places and transactions) did honestly and conscien- 
tiously, as in the holy presence of God, draw up from 
Pawcatuck river, which I then believed, and still do, 
is free from all English claims and conquests ; for 
although there were some Pequods on this side the 
river, who, by reason of some sachems' marriages 
with some on this side, lived in a kind of neutrality 
with both sides, yet, upon the breaking out of the war, 
they relinquished their land to the possession of their 
enemies, the Narragansetts and Nianticks, and their 



68 APPENDIX. 

land never came into the condition of the lands on 
the other side, which the English, by conquest, chal- 
lenged; so that I must still affirm, as in God's holy 
presence, I tenderly waved to touch a foot of land in 
which I knew the Pequod wars were maintained and 
were properly Pequod, being a gallant country ; and 
from Pawcatuck river hitherward, being but a patch 
of ground, full of troublesome inhabitants, I did, as I 
judged, inoffensively, draw our poor and inconsidera- 
ble line. 

" 10. Alas ! Sir, in calm midnight thoughts, what 
are these leaves and flowers, and smoke and shadows, 
and dreams of earthly nothings, about which we poor 
fools and children, as David saith, disquiet ourselves 
in vain ? Alas ! what is all the scuffling of this world 
for, but, conUy icill you smoke it ? What are all the 
contentions and wars of tliis world about, generally, 
but for greater dishes and bowls of porridge, of which, 
if we believe God's Spirit in Scripture, Esau and 
Jacob were types ? Esau will part with the heavenly 
birthright for his supping, after his hunting, for god 
belly ; and Jacob will part with his porridge for an 
eternal inheritance. O Lord, give me to make Ja- 
cob,s and Mary's choice, which shall never be taken 
from me. 

** 11. How much sweeter is the counsel of the Son 
of God, to mind first the matters of his kingdom; to 
take no care for to-morrow ; to pluck out, cut off and 



APPENDIX. 69 

fling away right eyes, hands and feet, rather than to 
be cast whole into hell-fire; to consider the ravens 
and the lilies whom a heavenly Father so clothes and 
feeds; and the counsel of his servant Paul, to roll 
our cares, for this life also, upon the most high Lord, 
steward of his people, the eternal God ; to be content 
with food and raiment : to mind not oar own, but 
every man the things of another ; yea, and to suffer 
wrong, and part with what we judge is right, yea, our 
lives and (as poor women martyrs have said) as many 
as there be hairs upon our heads, for the name of God 
and the son of God his sake. This is humanity, yea 
this is Christianity. The rest is but formality and 
picture, courteous idolatry and Jewish and Popish 
blasphemy against the Christian religion, the Father 
of spirits and his Son, the Lord Jesus. Besides, Sir, 
the matter with us is not about these children's toys 
of land, meadows, cattle, government, d^c. But here, 
all over this colony, a great number of weak and dis- 
tressed souls, scattered, are flying hither from Old 
and New England, the Most High and Only Wise 
hath, in his infinite wisdom, provided this country 
and this corner as a shelter for the poor and perse- 
cuted, according to their several persuasions. And 
thus that heavenly man, Mr. Haynes, Governor of 
Connecticut, though he pronounced the sentence of 
my long banishment against me, at Cambridge, then 
Newtown, yet said unto me, in his own house at 
Hartford, being then in some difference with the 



70 APPENDIX* 

Bay : '*I think, Mr. Williams, I must now confess to 
you, that the most wise God hath provided and cut 
out this part of his world for a refuge and receptacle 
for all sorts of consciences. I am now under a cloud, 
and my brother Hooker, with the Bay, as you have 
been, we have removed from them thus far, and yet 
they are not satisfied,'* 

" Thus, Sir, the King's Majesty, though his father's 
and his own conscience favored Lord Bishops, which 
their father and grandfather King James, whom I 
have spoke with, sore against his will, also did, yet 
all the world may see, by his Majesty's declarations 
and engagements before his return, and his declara- 
tions and Parliament speeches since, and many suit- 
able actings, how the Father of spirits hath mightily 
impressed and touched his royal spirit, though the 
Bishops much disturbed him, with deep inclination of 
favor and gentleness to different consciences and ap- 
prehensions as to the invisible King and way of his 
worship. Hence he hath vouchsafed his royal prom- 
ise under his hand and broad seal, that no person in 
this colony shall be molested or questioned for the 
matters of his conscience to God, so he be loyal and 
keep the civil peace. Sir, we must part with lands 
and lives before we part with such a jewel. I judge 
you may yield some land and the government of it to 
us, and we, for peace sake, the like to yon, as being 
but subjects to one king, &c. and I think the King's 
Majesty would thank us, for many reasons. But to 



APPENDIX. 71 

part with this jewel, we may as soon do it as the Jews 
with tlie favor of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes. 
Yourselves pretend liberty of conscience, but alas! 
it is but self, the great god self, only to yourselves. 
The King's Majesty winks at Barbadoes, where Jews 
and all sorts of Christian and Antichristian persua- 
sions are free, but our grant, some few weeks after 
yours sealed, though granted as soon, if not before 
yours, is crowned with the King's extraordinary favor 
to this colony, as being a banished one, in which his 
Majesty declared himself that he would experiment, 
whether civil government could consist with such lib- 
erty of conscience. This his Majesty's grant was 
startled at by his Majesty's high officers of state, who 
were to view it in course before the sealing, but fear- 
ing the lion's roaring, they couched, against their 
wills, in obedience to his Majesty's pleasure. 

*' Some of yours, as I heard lately, told tales to the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, viz. that we are a profane 
people, and do not keep the Sabbath, but some do 
plough, &.C. But, first, you told him not how we 
suffer freely all other persuasions, yea the common 
prayer, which yourselves will not suffer. If you say 
you will, you confess you must suffer more, as we do. 

" 2. You know this is but a color to your design, 
for, first, you know that all England itself (after the 
formality and superstition of morning and evening 
prayer) play away their Sabbath. M. You know 



72 APPENDIX. 

yourselves do not keep the Sabbath, that is the sev- 
enth day, &c. 

'* 3. You know that famous Calvin and thousands 
more held it but ceremonial and figurative, from Col- 
ossians 2, &c. and vanished ; and that the day of 
worship was alterable at the churches' pleasure. 
Thus also all the Romanists confess, saying, viz, that 
there is no express scripture, first, for infants' bap- 
tisms ; nor, second, for abolishing the seventh day, 
and instituting of the eighth day worship, but that it 
is at the churches' pleasure. 

" 4, You know, that generally, all this whole col- 
ony observe the first day, only heie and there one out 
of conscience, another out of covetousness, make no 
conscience of it. 

" 5. You know the greatest part of the world make 
no conscience of a seventh day. The next part of 
the world, Turks, Jews and Christians, keep three 
different days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday for their 
Sabbath and day of worship, and every one maintains 
his own by the longest sword. 

"5. I have offered, and do, by these presents, to 
discuss by disputation, writing or printing, among 
other points of differences, these three positions ; first, 
that forced worship stinks in God's nostrils. 2d. 
That it denies Christ Jesus yet to be come, and makes 
the church yet national, figurative and ceremonial. 
3d. That in these flames about religion, as his Ma- 
jesty, his father and grandfather have yielded, there 



APPENDIX. 73 

is no other prudent, Christian way of preserving peace 
in the world, but by permission of differing con- 
sciences. Accordingly, I do now offer to dispute 
these points and other points of difference, if yoa 
please, at Hartford, Boston and Plymouth. For the 
manner of the dispute and the discussion, if you think 
fit, one whole day each month in summer, at each 
place, by course, I am ready, if the Lord permit, 
and, as I humbly hope, assist me. 

" It is said, that you intend not to invade our spir- 
itual or civil liberties, but only (under the advantage 
of first sealing your charter) to right the privateers 
that petition to you. It is said, also, that if you had 
but Mishquomacuck and Narraganset lands quietly 
yielded, you would stop at Coweset, &c. Oh, Sir, 
what do these thoughts preach, but that private cabins 
rule all, whatever become of the ship of common 
safety and religion, which is so much pretended in 
New England ? Sir, I have heard further, and by 
some that say they know, that something deeper than 
all which hath been mentioned lies in the three colo- 
nies' breasts and consultations. I judge it not fit to 
commit such matter to the trust of paper, &c. but on- 
ly beseech the Father of spirits to guide our poor be- 
wildered spirits, for his name and mercy sake. 

" 15. Whereas our case seems to be the case of 
Paul appealing to Caesar against the plots of his reli- 
gious, zealous adversaries, I hear you pass not of our 
petitions and appeals to his Majesty, for partly you 



74 APPENDIX. 

think the Kinof will not own a profane people that do 
not keep the Sabbath; partly you think that the King 
incompetent judge, but you will force him to law also, 
to confirm your first-born Esau, though Jacob had 
by the heels, and in God's holy time must carry the 
birthright and inheritance. I judge your surmise is a 
dangerous mistake, for patents, grants and charters, 
and such like royal favors, are not laws of England, 
and acts of Parliament, nor matters of propriety and 
meum and tuum between the King and his subjects, 
which, as the times have been, have been sometimes 
triable in inferior Courts ; but such kind of grants 
have been like high offices in England, of high hon- 
or and ten, yea twenty thousand pounds gain per 
annum, yet revocable or curtabh; upon pleasure, ac- 
cording to the King's better information, or upon his 
Majesty's sight, or misbehavior, ingratefulness, or de- 
signs fraudulently plotted, private and distinct from 
him. 

*' 16. Sir, I lament that such designs should be 
carried on at such a time, while we are slript and 
whipt, and are still under (the whole country) the 
dreadful rods of God, in our wheat, hay, corn, cattle, 
shipping, trading, bodies and lives ; when, on the 
other side of the water, all sorts of consciences (yours 
and ours) are frying in the Bishops' pan and furnace; 
when the French and Romish Jesuits, the firebrands 
of the world for their god belly sake, are kindling at 
our back, in this country, especially with the Mo- 



APPENDIX. 75 

hawks and Mohegans, against us, of which I know 
and have daily information. 

" 17. If any please to say, is there no medicine for 
this malady ? Must the nakedness of New-England, 
like some notorious strumpet, be prostituted to the 
blaspheming eyes of all nations ? Must we be put to 
plead before his Majesty, and consequently the Lord 
Bishops, our common enemies, &/C. I answer, the 
Father of mercies and God of all consolations hath 
graciously discovered to me, as I believe, a remedy, 
which, if taken, will quiet all minds, yours and ours, 
will keep yours and ours in quiet possession and en- 
joyment of their lands, which you all have so dearly 
bought and purchased in this barbarous country, and 
so long possessed amongst these wild savages ; will 
preserve you both in the liberties and honors of your 
charters and governments, without the least impeach- 
ment of yielding one to another ; with a strong curb 
also to those wild barbarians and all the barbarians 
of this country, without troubling of compromisers 
and arbitrators between you ; without any delay, or 
long and chargeable and grievous address to our 
King's Majesty, whose gentle and serene soul must 
needs be afflicted to be troubled again with us. If 
you please to ask me what my prescription is, I will 
not put you off to Christian moderation or Christian 
humility, or Christian prudence, or Christian love, or 
Christian self-denial, or Christian contention or pa- 
tience. For I design a civil, a humane and political 



76 APPENDIX. 

medicine, which, if the God of Heaven please to 
bless, you will find it effectual to all the ends I have 
proposed. Only I must crave your pardon, both par- 
ties of you, if I judge it not fit to discover it at pres- 
ent. I know you are both of you hot ; I fear myself, 
also. If both desire, in a loving and calm spirit, to 
enjoy your rights, 1 promise you, with God's help, to 
help you to them, in a fair and sweet and easy way. 
My receipt will not please you all. If it should so 
please God to frown upon us that you should not like 
it, I can but humbly mourn, and say with the prophet, 
that which must perish must perish. And as to my- 
self, in endeavoring after your temporal and spiritual 
peace, I humbly desire to say, if I perish, I perish. 
It is but a shadow vanished, a bubble broke, a dream 
finished. Eternity will pay for all. 

" Sir, I am your old and true friend and servant, 

»' R. W. 

''To my honored and ancient friend, Mr. Thomas 
Prince, Governor of Plymouth Colony, these present. 
And by his honored hand this copy, sent to Connecti- 
cut, whom it most concerneth, I humbly present to 
the General Court of Plymouth, when next assem- 
bled." 



APPEISTDIX, 77 



NOTE D. 



'* What cheery This is a phrase learned by the 
Indians, among the whites. It was used as a friendly 
greeting, or salutation; as, "How do ye do? — How 
fare ye?" &,c. With this phrase for a title, Hon. 
Job Durfee, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial 
Court of Rhode Island, published, some two years 
since, a poem which celebrates Roger Williams, 
and some of the principal colonial events of New 
England, and especially of Rhode Island, in his time. 
It is dedicated to " Rev. Romeo Elton, Professor of 
Languages in Brown University.^' From it, we have 
taken the liberty to make the following extracts ; wish- 
ing that the work itself were more generally known 
and read. 

Of Mr. Williams's journey from Salem, after his 
banishment, and some subsequent incidents, the writer 
says : — 

In boundless forests now our founder trod. 

And South-west far his doubtful course lie took ; 

The lofty pines and cedars round him nod — 

Loud roars the tempest through the leafless oak ; 

Deep lies the snow upon the frozen sod, 

And still the storm's descending torrents choke 

The Heavens above; and only fancy could, 

So dim the view, conceive the solitude. 



78 APPENDIX. 

Above his head the branches writhe and bend, 
Or in the mingled wreck their ruin flies — 

The storm redoubles, and the whirlwinds blend 
The rising snow-drift with descending skies; 

And oft the crags a friendly shelter lend 

His breathless bosom, and his sightless eyes ; 

But, when the transient gust its fury spends, 

He through the storm again upon liis journey wends. 



Sire Williams journeyed in the forest lone ; 

And then niiiht's thickening shades began to fill 
His soul with doubt — for shelter had he none — 
And all the out-stretched waste was clad with one 

Vast mantle hoar. And he began to hear 
At times the fox's bark, and the fierce howl 

Of wolf, sometimes afar — sometimes so near, 
That in the very glen they seemed to prowl 

Where now he, wearied, paused — and then his ear 
Started to note some shaggy monster's growl, 

That Jrom his snow-clad rocky den did peer. 

Shrunk with gaunt famine in that tempest drear, 

And scenting human blood — yea, and so nigh, 
Thrice did our northern tiger seem to come. 

He thought he heard the fagots crackling by, 

And saw, through driven snow and twilight gloom, 

Peer from the thickets his fierce burning eye. 

Scanning his destined prey, and through the broom. 

Thrice stealing on his ears Ihe whining cry 

Swelled by degrees above the tempest high. 



APPENDIX. 79 

"Father of mercies! thou the wanderer's guide, 
In this dire storm along the liowling waste, 

Thanks for the shelter thou dost Jiere provide. 
Thanks for the mercies of ihe day that's past j 

Tiianks for the frugal fare thou hast supplied; 
And Oh 1 may still thy tender mercies last;— 

May ihe delusion of our race subside, 

That chains man's conscience to tliC ruler's pride. 

Grant that thy humble instrument still shun 

His persecutors in their eager quest; — 
Grant the asylum, yet to be begun. 

To persecution's exiles yield a rest; 
Let ages after ages take the boon, 

And in religious freedom still be blest — 
Grant that I live until this task be done, 
And then O Lord ! receive me as thine own." 

Our father ceased, and with keen relish he 
Refreshed his wearied frame in that lone dell 5 

Ah ! little can his far posterity 

Sense now the pleasures of that frugal meal; 

For naught he knew of pampered luxury, 
But toil and fast had done their ofRce well. 

And not the dainties brought o'er India's sea, 

Or wrung from sweat of modern slavery. 



Of all the monsters of the dreary wood. 
None like tlie panther did the hunter fear; 

For man and beast he fearlessly pursued — 

Whilst others shunned he was allured by fire J 

And Williams knew how perilous his mood, 
And for the trying onset did prepare ; 

Still by the rising blaze he firmly stood, 

And every dangeious avenue he viewed. 



80 APPENDIX. 

In God he trusted for deliverance — 

He thought of Daniel in the lion's den — 

He waited silent for the fierce advance — 
He heard the fagots break along the glen — 



But at this moment from the darkness broke 
A human voice in Narraganset's tongue j 

" Neemat I " (my brother) in kind tone it spoke, 
*' How comes Awanux these drear wilds among ? 

And at the accents the dark thickets shook, 
And from them lightly the red hunter sprung, 

And from his belt familiarly he took, 

And fired his calumet, and curled its smoke. 

Then to our founder passed the simple cheer, 
In sign of friendship to a wandering man, 

" Let not," he said, " my brother quake with fear, 
" 'Twas Waban's cry at which the monsters ran. 



" 'T were hard to tell my brother of the woods. 

What cause has forced his pale-faced brother here. 
The red and white men have their different modes. 

And scant is Narraganset's tongue I fear. 
In fitting terms to teach my brother's ear. 

The themes of strife among white multitudes — 
Themes yet unknown within these forests drear, 

Where undisturbed ye worship various gods, 
And persecution leave to white abodes. 

The letter of Mr. Williams, written to his wife, 
from Seekonk^ is thus described : — 



APPENDIX. 81 

'T was on the inner bark stript from the pine, 

Our father penciled this epistle rare ; 
Two blazing pine knots did his torches shine, 

His desk a pallet, and a mat his chair : 
He wrote his spouse the brief familiar line, 

How he had journeyed, and his roof now where ; 
And that poor Waban was his host benign. 
And bade her cheer and give him blankets fine. 

Then bade her send the Indian presents bought, 
When first they suffered persecution's thrall — 

The strings of Wampum, and the scarlet coat, 
The tinselled belt and jewel coronal; 

His pocket Jjible, which his haste forgot, 
For he had cheering hopes of Waban's soul ; 

Then gave her solace to the bad unknown. 

That God o'errules and still protects his own. 

After the chief, Awanax, had related to Mr. Wil- 
liams, the white men's demands for lands, and the 
manner in which he had satisfied them, the poet gives 
the following graphic sketch of the supposed conver- 
sation : — 

" Brother I know that all these lands are thine — 
These rolling rivers and these waving trees, — 

From the Great Spirit came the gift divine ; 

And who would trespass upon grants like these? 

Naught would I take, e'en if the power were mine, 
Of all thy lands, lest it should Him displease ; 

But for just meed should thou some part resign, 

Would the Great spirit blame the deed benign ? " 

" 'Tis not the peag," said the sagamore, 
" Nor knives, nor guns, nor garments red as blood, 
6 



82 APPENDIX. 

That buy the lands I liold dominion o'er — 

Lands ihat were fashioned by the red man's God j 

But to my friend I give, and take no more 
Than to his generous bosom may seem good y 

But still we pass the belt> and for the lands, 

He strengthens mine, and strengthen I his hands." 

Having carried his hero through various vicissi- 
tudes, and introduced his readers to many wild and 
savage scenes, tlie poet proceeds : — 

Who on ihe prostrate trunk has risen now. 

And does with clt-aving steel the blows renew ? 

Broad is the beaver oJ his manly brow. 
His mantle gray, his hozen azure blue; 

His feet are dripping with dissolving snow; 
His garments satt-d with the morning dew ; 

His nerves seem strengthened with the labor past; — 

His visage hardened by the winter's blast. 

Though changed by sufferings, 'tis our founder yet; 

There does he hope, and labor, but in vain, 
On free opinion's base to build a State, 

Wheie reason aye shall spurn the tyrant's chain ; 
But, ah ! unhappy man I the bigot's hale, 

Will still, 1 fear, thy lofty soul restrain : 
Will rob thee even of an exile's home, 
And leave thee still in savage wilds to roam. 

Hard by yon little fountain, clear and sheen, 

Whose swollen streamlet murmurs down the glade, 

Where groves of hemlocks and of cedars green, 
Stand 'gainst the northern storm a barricade, 

■Sprinns the first mansion of his rude demesne, 
A slender wigwam by red Waban made : 



APPENDIX. 83 

Such is eire Williams' shelter from the blast, 
And there his rest when daily toils are past. 

Yet seldom from the storm he shrinks awajr, 
With his own hands he 's laboring to rear 

A mansion, where his wife and children may, 
In happier days, partake the social cheer; 

WJiere no sour bigot may in wrath essay 
To make the free-born spirit quail with fear. 

At threat of scourge, of banishment and death. 

For the free thought — the soul's sustaining breath. 



Boast of your swords, ye blood-stained conquerors — boast 
The free-born millions ye have made your slaves; 

Exult o'er fields where liberty was lost. 

And patriots fell — where lingeiing o'er their graves, 

A nation's memory, like a vengeful ghost. 
Broods never slumbering, and forever raves 

Of crimes unanswered — til! the gathered wrath 

Of ages bursts on your ensanguined path — 

And where ore ye ? some remnant left behind, 
Some scul])tured marble, or decaying fane. 

May shew where once ye triumphed mad and blind, 
Shew but for genius ye had fought in vain; 

Then look to him whose quiet toils unbind 
The bonds which bigots gave you to enchain 

Man's angel spirit to some demon's will. 

And at your guilty deeds, blush and be still. 

Mr. Durfee thus introduces the interview of Mr. 
Williams with Waban, whom he was about to despatch 
to Salem for his wife and children : — 



84 APPENDIX. 

" But, Waban, J have now a task for tlice — 
Think not of him, be thy attention here — 

Whilst the snows covered earth, and ice tlie sea, 
I left my consort and my children dear ; 

'T was stormy night — the hunter sheltered me; 
And in his lodge he gave abundant cheer ; 

Then to the rising sun he cheerly sped, 

And saw 'mong faces pale the wanderer's shed. 

" There too he saw his little children play. 
And the white hand which gave the blanket red, 

But now far distant seems that gloomy day, 

When from their presence thy white sachem lied 

The lodge is built — the garden smiling gay — 
Will the swift foot once more the forest thread, 

And guide the children and the snow-white hand. 

Along the howling wilds to this far distant land ? " 

Waban replied, the nimble foot will go — 

But a gaunt wolf may haunt the hunter's way, 

And he will sharp his darts, and string his bow, 
And gird his loins as for the battle fray; 

The Priest of Chepian ne'er forgets a fue — 
His vengeance lasts until a bloody day 

Shall feed the crows, or still a bloodier night 

Give the gaunt wolf a banquet ere 'tis light, 

" God is our trust ! " our pious founder said, 
" Arm, and go forth confiding in his might — 

Far as a banished exile's foot dare tread. 

On ground forbidden, will thy sachem white 

Journey to meet thee. When the sun has shed 
Five times from orient skies his flaming light, 

Williams will meet his spouse and children dear. 

Hid in brown shades forbidden Salem near. 



APPENDIX 



85 



On the return of Waban, with Mrs. Williams and 
her children, he is met by Mr. Williams ; and the 
scene is thus described : — 

But ere he gained the destined point, or viewed 

The fell assassin, the dry flignts' crash, 
The waving coppice, and re-echoing wood, 

And sounding foot-falls, down the lawns that dash, 
Told him how vainly he his foe pursued. 

Or that pursuit were dangerously rash ; 
Then Uirning slowly, he retraced his track, 
As his foiled leap the lion measures back. 

The matron, trembling, viewed the passing scene ; 

For she had marked that hostile arrow's flight, 
And Williams' glance, and Waban's ireful mien, 

Told her what dangers did their fears excite ; 
No frantic shrieks the mother's acts demean ; 

A mother's cares did every thought invite; 
And o'er the little fountains of our blood, 
She stretched her arms' frail shield, and trembling stood. 

Though with more calmness, yet with equal dread. 
The anxious I'ather viewed the threatening harm; 

And, under God, what was there now to aid 
Save his own firmness and red Waban's arm.'' 

Behind — before — a dreary forest spread — 
Far off Neponset — here the dire alarm 

Of lurking savage — whilst the gathering night 

Still added horror to a doubtful flight. 

He paused one moment, and his means forlorn 
To guard his onward march he thus arrayed : 

The palfreys shielded by the burdens borne, 
Each side the moving group, were slowly led; 



86 APPENDIX. 

This reigned by him, that by his eldest born, 

Whilst nimble W;iban scoured the threatening shade — 
On every side the watchful hunter ran ; 
Now fenced their flanks — now pioneered their van. 

They proceeded unharmed. 

The reception of Williams and family, at the now 
city of Providence, is thus portrayed: — 

^' Waban," said Williams, " we may venture now, 
But pause ye short of the sure arrow's flight ; " 

Instant the red man drove the foaming prow 
Along the cleaving flood, and, at the slight 

Of the red multitudes, the rose's glow 

Fading, at once, left Maiy's cheek all white ; 

And sudden fears her children's breasts surprise, 

And, with their little hands, they trembling veil their eyes. 

Full in the front of that vast multitude. 

Within an arrow's flight, their skiff th(>)'^ stayed ; 

A sudden silence hushed the listening wood ; 

The crowds all paused, and with wild eyes surveyed 

The pale-faced group — which in like stillness viewed 
The wondering throngs. — At length the woodland glade 

Moves with their numbers — down the banks they pour, 

Swarming and gathering on the dark'ning shore. 

As when some urchin, with a heedless blow. 

The insect nations of the hive alarms ; 
Down from their cells the watchful myriads flow. 

And earth and air rolls black with murmuring swarms; 
So from the woods the wondering warriors go, 

So o'er the dark'ning strand their number forms; 
None save their haughty chiefs remain behind. 
And they the lofty banks and forest margin lined 



APPENDIX. 87 

Then silence reigned again — but still they staied, — 
Some clasped their knives and some their arrows drew; 

Then from his seat his form our Founder reared, 
Beneath him rocking rolled the frail canoe ; 

His hand he raised, and manly forehead bared, 

And slraisht their former friend the sachems knew; 

Netop, What cheer ! broke on the listening air ; 

What cheer ! What cheer 1 was echoed here and there. 

And straight the kindling crowds burst on his ear, 
Their shouts embodied sought the joyous sky, 

With open arms, and greeting of What cheer. 
Lived all the shores, and banks, and summits high; 

What cheer! What clieer ! resounded far and near, 
What cheer ! What cheer ! the hollow woods reply; 

What cheer! What cheer! swells the pxulting gales, 

Sweeps o'er the laughing hills, and trembles through the 
vales. 



Miantonomi, stepping from the crowd. 

Stretched forth his brawny hand, and cried " What 
cheer ! 
Welcome, my brother ! sny, what lowering cloud, 

O'er Seekonk's eastern marge, impels thee here; 
Be it Pequot in his numbers proud, 

I hold his greeting in this glittering ppear; 
But, oh ! perchance my brother seeks this place, 
To share with us the sacred rites of peace." 

" Not so, brave chief.— It is to seek a home, 

By seer announced, by Heaven to me assigned; 

Yonder abode lies wrapt in sable gloom, 
Sprung not from Pequot, but the Plymouth kind ; 



APPENDIX. 



My promised harvest blighted in the bloom, 

My voiceless roof— all, all have I resigned, 
And hither come to seek Mooshausick's plain, 
And beg the gift once proffered me in vain." 



Here grave Canonicus came from the throng — 
" Welcome, my son ! " exclaimed the aged chief, 

" Bear thou the inflictions of thy kindred's wrong, 
Like a brave man, not with a woman's grief; 

The lands thou seest shall all to thee belong; 
And for thy comforts lost, a moment brief 

Shall e'en their loss repair — o'er yonder height 

Is the domain where Chepian ruled of late. 



NOTE E. 

Of all the various employments in which the writer, 
or any man was ever engaged, (whose nerves were 
not made of iron, and forehead of brass) begging money 
is the most irksome. To raise tlie requisite sum 
therefore, which was necessary to discharge the debt 
standing against the Roger Williams Church, we had 
resort to a series of scientific and historical lectures. 
Those gentlemen who were so generous as to give 
their services, created a profit in the sale of tickets. 
Besides a number of the clergy of Providence, who 
lectured gratuitously in this series, there were also the 
Hon, Tristram Burges, Hon. Job Durfee and others, 



APPENDIX. 89 

whose kindness will not soon be forgotten. The Hon. 
J. S. Buckingham, late member of the British Parlia- 
ment, now giving lectures in this country descriptive 
of the eastern world, through which he has travelled, 
gave the last of what were called the "Roger Wil- 
liams lectures." The avails of this lecture, placed 
more than one hundred dollars in the funds of that 
society. 

As we have occasion to mention the name of this 
gentleman, we cannot consent to leave it without fur- 
ther notice. We do not even hope to see Mr. Buck- 
ingham, or any other man who is laboring to benefit 
his race, occupy the unenviable position, where all 
men will speak well of him. But we do hope to see 
due courtesy -and respect manifested to one coming, 
as this gentleman does, to gratify us with so much 
that is interesting ; acquired at such great expense 
and labor, from the land of the scriptures. 

Having elevated himself from, the occupation of an 
humble sailor boy, to a rank which places him on a 
level with the scholars and legislators of his age, he 
has distinguished himself by repeated acts, each of 
which will tell on the interests of the world down to 
the latest generation. Among these may be mentioned 
the abolishment of the East India monopoly, which 
removes all obstruction out of the way to free inter- 
course between Christian and idolatrous nations ; the 
suppression of burning alive the widows ! and the 
revenue derived from idolatry, which has long been 



90 APPENDIX. 

such an insuperable barrier in the way of mission- 
ary labor in Hindostan, with many other modifications 
and improvements in the East India government. 
After having given an impetus to the temperance re- 
formation, that no other man in Europe ever hid done, 
by introducing the subject to the investigation of Par- 
liament, which resulted, amid the scoffs and sneers of 
many of the members, in triumphant success to this 
work of humanity, throughout Great Briliati. He 
then turned his attention to the suppression of what 
he deemed cruel and wrong in the laws and usages of 
his own native England — such as impressment and 
flogging in the navy and army, and many other ob- 
jects of the kind, which raised an imperishable monu- 
ment to his memory, as a virtuous and humane legis- 
lator. 

Laboring in this department so long as he thought 
duty required, to the grief of his grateful constituents 
for services done, he resigned his seat in Parliament, 
and is now travelling among us, to learn our history, 
and study our manners. 'I'hus, having made himself 
familiar with almost the whole accessible part of the 
Eastern Hemisphere, he has come to the new world, 
from which, if his life be spared, he will doubtless 
make up another chapter of his useful observations ; 
and which we shall, no doubt, feel a great pleasure to 
read as most people have done, whatever comes from 
his prolific pen. His whole course of procedure since 
he has been among us, has been in keeping with his 



APPENDIX. 91 

true character — a gentleman, and we trust, a Christian. 
To the solicitations of the managers of the various 
benevolent institutions with us, his ear is never deaf. 
The gratuitous services which he has thus rendered, 
has not added hundreds only, but thousands of dollars 
to the funds of these societies — saying nothing of his 
private donations. Yet lo ! it is left for an humble 
New England man to make the discovery that Mr. 
Buckingham is a " humbug." Strange that the in^ 
telligence of England, Ireland and Scotland, in most 
of whose cities and towns these same lectures have 
been given, had not, ere this time, made such a discov- 
ery. And stranger still, that one of the most populous 
towns of England, should have returned him over 
popular competitors, humbug as he may be, six suc- 
cessive terms to a seat in Parliament! 

But great as the discovery is, which our own yankee 
is making, (for the discovery is now going on) we 
venture to predict that if Divine Providence shall 
spare his life to complete his present design, the youth 
who have chanced to attend his lectures, will be proud 
to say, thit thsy have seen and heard the Hon. J. S. 
Buckingham. 

If these remarks shall subject us to the imputation 
of enthusiasm for the man, we shall have the satisfac- 
tion of knowing that our attachment is not misplaced 
— for it is to the man whose future history will show 
that in him has lived another benefactor of his race. 



92 APPENDIX. 

When Mr. B. visited Providence, he gave lectures 
every evening of one week for the purpose of obtain- 
ing two evenings of his brief visit to lecture on tem- 
perance. At the close of the last temperance meet- 
ing, the following resolutions were offered by a mem- 
ber of the city society, and carried by acclamation. 

Resolved, That the friends of temperance in this 
city, hereby tender to Mr. Buckingham their sincere 
and hearty thanks for his eloquent and instructive 
discourses, imparting (as they do) the experience of 
one, who under the vicissitudes of almost every cli- 
mate, and in a great variety of situations has realized 
the practical advantages of temperance. 

Resolved, That he more especially deserves the 
thanks of this society for his consistent example of 
total abstinence, which we confidently believe will 
produce beneficial results on the higher and more 
fashionable classes, by teaching them that social in- 
tercourse needs not the aid of alcohol to render it 
pleasurable. 

Also, the following resolutions were presented each 
in their proper place. 

Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting, that 
the lectures on Egypt and Palestine, as delivered by 
the Hon. J. S. Buckingham, in this city, have been 
productive of much valuable information, and great 
pleasure to the audience, that we have been highly 
gratified with the happy manner in which they have 
been delivered, and that we believe them worthy of 
patronage by all lovers of useful knowledge. 

Resolved, That in behalf of tha Roger Williams* 
Church and Society in this city, we, the undersigned 
feel it our duty thus publicly to express our gratitude 



APPENDIX. 93 

to the Honorable Mr. Buckingham for his beneficence 
in giving the avails of his last Oriental Lecture in 
this place, for the benefit of their funds. 

Arthur Caverno, Pastor. 
Benajah Williams, Jr., Deacon. 

City of Providence^ Dec. 7, 1838. 

In our correspondence with Mr. Buckingham we 
had occasion to give some account of the fouiNder of 
the church, whose funds he was solicited to aid, and 
also of our design to publish this little book. It was 
on this occasion he wrote the following letter which 
we are at liberty to publish. 

New Bedford, (Mass.) Dec. 15, 1838. 
Rev. L. D. Johnson : 

Dear Sir : I rejoice to hear from you, that you 
are about to publish a memorial of the founder of 
Providence, and the great champion and martyr of 
religious liberty, Roger Williams, in connection 
with the history of the church still bearing his name, 
over which, as pastor, it must give you great pleasure 
to have presided. 

In communicating to me, as you have done, the 
resolutions of thanks passed by the "Roger AVilliams 
Society," and tendered to me for the aid afforded to 
the funds of their church, by the receipts of the lec- 
ture on Palestine, which I gave for its benefit, at the 
close of my regular course to the public of Provi- 
dence, you have afforded me much pleasure : as I 
shall always recur with satisfaction to the period, 



94 APPENDIX. 

when your urgent and pressing invitation first led me 
to resolve on visiting your interesting city : and always 
remember with delight, the cordial hospitality and 
friendly intercourse which I enjoyed, with my family, 
at the hands of many of its most distinguished citi- 
zens. But, above all, I shall ever feel proud at the 
association of my humble name with any labors in 
connection with the beloved and venerated name of 
Roger Williams, and in aid of the cause which he 
lived and died to promote — the cause of genuine 
religion, purified from the dross of human authority 
and human corruptions, drawn from the clear foun- 
tain of the gospel, and sending its streams, freely, to 
the heart of every human being who thirsts after its 
waters, and who may come and drink deeply, without 
money and without price. 

That the city of Providence may long continue to 
shed a hallowed influence over the Christian world, 
by the bright example of its bold and uncompromising 
founder, until religious liberty shall spread its heaven- 
!)orn principles over the whole earth : and that you 
may be individually blessed in your disinterested la- 
bors to promote the cause of temperance and piety, 
in which you have so long been engaged, is the sin- 
cere and earnest prayer of, dear sir, 

Your faithful friend, 

J. S. Buckingham. 



